


Ours

by xxdrarryrebellexx



Series: Their Family [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Drarry, F/M, Family, Family Drama, Family Dynamics, Family Fluff, Good Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter Next Generation, How Do I Tag, I LOVE DRARRY OKAY, M/M, Made For Each Other, Mpreg, Multi, Not Beta Read, Professor Draco Malfoy, Professor Harry Potter, Ravenclaw Scorpius Malfoy, Scorpius is still cute AF, Self-Indulgent, Their Family - Freeform, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-26
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-04-28 03:27:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 40,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14440464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxdrarryrebellexx/pseuds/xxdrarryrebellexx
Summary: | Finale to 'Mine' and 'Yours' | Their Family book 3 |~ "I bond my magic with yours. Forever."~The little family they had started had become bigger than they could have ever anticipated."I knew what I signed up for when I married you. There is no running away, okay? This family is ours."





	1. - un -

Harry James Malfoy-Potter could gladly say he had never thought he would be sitting on any couch in his house and having tea with Dudley Dursley, who unknowingly married a squib and had a magical daughter. He would also never have thought Dudley would come looking for him to help prepare his now Hogwarts aged daughter to head off to school.

It was bloody laughable.

He's pretty sure Draco _did_ laugh. Multiple times, actually. Eventually he just excused himself from the room and took Dudley's daughter, Ava, to hang out with Scorpius and Teddy.

 

"So- uh..." started his cousin staring at the baby in his lap instead of up at him. "You have a daughter?"

 

"I have twin girls actually, and two sons."

 

"Oh," the bigger man responded dumbly, not knowing what else to say. "Where's their mother?"

 

"Long story," Harry said with a tone even he wasn't sure how to decipher. Instead, he tries to turn the conversation to the real topic at hand. "Why don't you tell me about Ava..."

 

"Nothing to tell," Dudley's wife, Vivian, speaks up for the first time since she's walked through the door. "She's a- a _witch_ ," she whispered to him conspiratorically as if she weren't used to speaking out loud about it. Harry only nodded, because he remembered that feeling. The understanding that even when you're safe you just _have_ to double check and triple check your surroundings to make sure you aren't being followed. The feeling of not being sure if even a safe zone was safe.

 

"Her letter from Hogwarts came and we didn't know what to do. I- uh- I remember you getting your letters," Dudley puts in. "All the letters all over the house. We couldn't even go out for all the owls waiting."

 

"So..." Harry said, looking away. "Why did you need my help?"

 

"My parents died before the war ended. I was only 14 and since I wasn't in Hogwarts, I was sent into muggle foster care," Vivian says by way of explanation. "I don't know how to- well I can't _teach_ her anything. She _has_ to go to Hogwarts and I can't really help her buy any of this stuff, I don't even know what half of it is and Duddy said you would know. He's been bragging about this brave cousin of his, but I never knew it was- I mean, you're _Harry Potter_. When he found out Ava took after my side of the family he told me who you were and I bloody flipped!"

 

"I guess I could help you decipher some of the things on the list, but-"

He was cut off by crying. He looked down at his daughter who was looking back up at him with wide eyes and a hand in her mouth.

"Potter!" Yelled Draco from upstairs. He looked over at his cousin and his cousin's wife who didn't want anything but a little help. Something his Uncle Vernon wouldn't have asked for if it killed him and he sighed before motioning for them to follow him up the stairs and into the rest of the house.

 

"Nice house you got here," said Dudley as they made their way up one of the winding staircases.

 

"It's my husband's family home," he replied. "It's bloody tortue with all these steps."

 

It's as if only then Dudley began putting together the pieces.

"So the man who opened the door is your-" Dudley stops when he spots his daughter laughing at something a little pale haired boy is showing her. There is a blue haired boy making faces off to the side as well. "Those are your boys?" He asks instead.

 

"Yeah," Harry responds fondly like he's forgot where he is. He shakes his head. "Would you like to meet them? I mean, I guess you have to since you're here, but-"

 

"Daddy!" says Ava Dursley pleasantly, before rushing over and wrapping her arms around her father. "They can do magic like I can!" Harry smiles at the young girl, because she hasn't learned the same shame her mother has and he's happy for her.

 

"This is our son, Scorpius," he says then, trying to get introductions through quickly. Scorpius stands and shakes Dudley's hand with a slight bow before reseating himself on the floor, but Harry can still see the proud look on his husband's face. "And this is our son, Teddy." The boy in question only throws a hand in the air.

 

"Wassup?"

 

Harry can see Draco roll his eyes out of the corner of his view, but the blonde is still smiling.

"Scorpius, Teddy, this is my cousin Dudley and his wife Vivian. I grew up with his family before Hogwarts, when my parents uh- yeah."

 

"So do we have to call him Uncle Dudley or something?" Teddy says finally paying attention. Harry had told him the story of his childhood when he was old enough to ask about it.

 

"Not if you don't want to." Harry shrugs. "I mean, he's not your uncle, he's your cousin."

 

"Potter," Draco says cutting the conversation short, over a quietly crying Anita, holding the little girl up. " _She_ wants to pull on Teddy's jewelry."

 

"Then Teddy shouldn't wear shiny lip jewelry, isn't that right princess," He responds giving his son a playful grin while sitting Lyra on the floor. He watched as she crawled over to her older brother, before taking Anita from Draco's arms. He makes his way into the room and sits down attempting to calm his daughter on his lap. Meanwhile, the older blonde almost immediately turns to properly introduce himself.

 

"Draco Malfoy," he says with a small bow before Harry lobs a pillow at the back of his head. "Draco Malfoy- _Potter_ ," he corrects then turns with a glare towards his husband. "Soon to be widowed."

 

He shows the couple into the room and offers them seats in the two armchairs closest to the window, before taking the seat next to Harry and making himself comfortable.

"You're such a proper host," Harry praises sarcastically.

 

"One of us has to have manners, right, 'Nita?" Draco asks the now giggling baby girl, poking her nose and smiling softly when she grabs at his hand with her smaller ones.

 

"No!" Scorpius yelps as Lyra forces herself into a standing position to get her hands into his hair. Teddy snorts and Scorpius slaps a hand over his mouth. "I can talk," he whispers in awe before a grin grows over his face. "I CAN TALK!"

Draco's sappy smile grows as he looks at his son who quickly turns remorseful and rushes over, knocking Lyra back onto her butt by mistake (she only giggles), to smother him with a hug.

"I didn't m-m-mean any of it. I'm so sorry, Dad. You know I'm s-sorry don't you? I'm so sorry." Then Scorpius is crying, which means Draco is crying, which means Teddy is laughing and Harry is fondly shaking his head.

 

"Of course I know you didn't,that doesn't mean you didn't need to learn-" Draco says as he starts into a lecture with the smaller blonde leaving Harry to explain.

 

"Er- well...Scorp said some things he should not have said, so Draco rendered him mute for a bit too learn manners and respect and things."

 

"Ever heard of just rapping'im on the knuckles?" Vivian tries to joke and Dudley squeezes her hand softly. She looks at him with a questioning eye and Harry supposes she'd learn to read his blank expressions as guilt because her eyes widened. "L-like _magic_?" But the word is a whisper again. Like she knew what 30 lashes felt like when things happened even when you didn't mean for them to. When Dudley nodded without looking at her she angrily pushed him away. "How could you let them do that to him!?" she said, practically screeching and for the second...maybe third time in his life, Harry felt the need to protect his cousin.

 

"Vivian, it's fine. He didn't know any better, and I made it out alright so-"

 

"It's not _fine_ ," both she and Draco say at the same time.

 

"Maybe not," says Harry. "But we've both grown up since then. He's apologized and I've forgiven him. So _we're_ fine and thats what matters."

 

Both spouses nodded, but Harry knew his husband would use this as a reason to stop them helping or at the very least make them work harder for something Harry would do anyway. He had hoped it wouldn't be too long of a night.


	2. - deux -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> two books later and ya boys cooking secrets are revealed lmao.

Scorpius is taking any opportunity to talk, and his mouth is moving a mile a minute.

His parents had passed around the twins before finally getting them to sleep and getting the Dursleys to follow them into the nursery to lay the girls down.

"You don't look like your Dads," Ava says boldly talking to Teddy. "What's wrong with you?"

 

"Nothing's wrong with me," he says. Scorpius snorts and he shoves him playfully. "My parents died in the war and Pops adopted me."

 

"Oh. I'm sorry."

 

"It's okay. I was barely a year old." He shrugged, picking at his ear awkwardly.

 

"So is your hair really blue?"

 

"Uh, I guess?" he says more like a question.

 

"Hair isn't supposed to grow in blue," she says matter-of-factly, but nods thoughtfully nonetheless. Scorpius laughs again before they're all called downstairs.

They walk into a discussion between Draco and Vivian on the different cauldron types. He is explaining why it's best to have more than one kind even if the list only specifically calls for pewter while Harry and Dudley look on. The rounder man is shifting from foot to foot and looking around the room a bit uncomfortably.

"I uh- I didn't know you were such a big deal here. I had only called you brave because I remember you saving me..." he whispers. "But Viv says you fought a war. She says you-"

 

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Draco starts, "Potter saved the world, but could he stop bragging long enough to ask the elves to make dinner? That'd be a real talent."

Harry smiles self deprecatingly, but he agrees to talk to the elves all the same.

 

"Wouldn't it be quicker for you to just cook something," Dudley asks confused and Draco scoffs out a laugh.

 

"Potter can't cook."

 

"Well, sure he can. He used to cook for us all the time."

 

"He _what_?" Draco said with narrowed eyes.

 

"We didn't have takeout _every_ night," Teddy admits as well and Harry turns to him playfully shocked.

 

"Can I trust no one?" Harry says dramatically.

 

"I was thinking the same thing," Draco says with his hands on his hips. "Potter, you can cook?"

 

"If you mean cook so far as in am I able to make a few select meals...then yes. If you mean cooking like what you and Molly do, then absolutely not."

 

"Of course not like what I do! Mother was trained by French chefs and I learned from her. I wouldn't expect you to know how to professionally prepare fine French cuisine, but bloody hell- and you've had me fooled this entire time." He took long strides over and wrapped Harry into a hug. "That was so Slytherin of you I could almost cry."

 

"I hate you. I hate you so much."

 

When the paler man finally let go of him, he placed a huge kiss on his cheek causing the blood to rush to Harry's cheeks.

"Am I missing something?" Dudley asked confused from beside them.

 

"Pa said he couldn't cook," Scorpius says. "So he never has to make dinner."

 

"Whoops," Vivian says through a laugh. "Then I apologize on my husband's account."

Harry smiles with a shrug because she's been so tense since they've been here and he's glad she is finally relaxing. He looks over to his husband who is staring at him with a sappy fondness and he decides he doesn't mind Draco knowing. It was about time anyway. 

 

\--:--

 

Everyone is sitting at the table laughing and talking around mouthfuls of Harry's homemade curry when the floo starts ringing. Teddy jumps up to answer it with a smile, thinking it was Elle, but when he comes back with a more somber expression Draco sees his face and pauses.

"Uh, Scorp...you have a visitor."

 

When Teddy moves away from the door of the closest sitting room, Nick is standing there looking guilty and nervous. He looks up and it's almost apparent that Teddy had sent a few stinging hexes at him when he had first come through.

"Professors, I'm sorry for- uh- barging in, but I'm not here for Scorpius. I was wondering if Nat and I could stay here for a while."

 

Draco is still looking at him when it dawns on him that those aren't stinging hex scars and that he also has bruises on his arm and whatever happened, Teddy was not a part of it. Harry is up before the blonde has even finished processing it.

 

"Where's your sister?" Draco asks from the table.

 

"Home."

 

"Where did you floo from?" Harry says trying to rein in his temper.

 

"Home." The boy is looking down and Harry is biting down on his tongue.

 

"Potter," Draco warns through gritted teeth, back at the table, where the air is so thick with Harry's magic, it's hard to breathe. "Calm down."

 

"I am calm."

 

"Oh, of course," Draco says sarcastically. "I can tell."

 

"Make yourself at home, Nick," Harry says before heading into the sitting room and dissppearing through the floo.

 

"Pipa," Draco said, calling a house elf. "Bring a couple more chairs and plates to the table. We have a larger party tonight."

 

It wasn't long before the table had extended a few more inches allowing extra seating for the ravenclaw siblings, though only one of them were there.

 

"Nick," Scorpius says, his eyes moving quickly between the boys blue ones. "A-are you alright?"

 

"Yeah," the older boy responds meekly, but he isn't looking at Scorpius anymore. he is staring at the table and plucking at the table cloth.

 

The sudden pull and pop of apparation has them all snapping their heads up only to see an angry Harry Potter, hair blown back from his scar, which always looked a bit brighter on his warm brown skin after he used magic as if it were connected right to his magic core. As if it were glowing. His glasses were skewed and his wand was gripped tightly in his hand as if he had to force himself to use it, force his magic to be controlled. His other arm was wrapped around Natalie who was crying and shivering and looked to be in awe, but was no more worse for wear than that.

Nick jumped from the table and ran to give his sister a hug.

"Potter," said Draco, trying not to openly ogle his own husband. He would have rushed over to see if he were okay, but the table was hiding his raging hard-on and showing that to ones' guests would be bad manners. "You could learn to use the door like normal people." 

Harry's eyes, which had been somewhat glazed over cleared when he heard Draco's voice and he gave a self-deprecating smile. It was one of the reasons he loved the blonde. He had a way of knocking Harry back into being himself in a way no one else could.

"I'll try to remember that," the darker man responds before walking across the room and taking the seat next to his husband, neither of them taking notice of the Dursleys who looked a mix of scared and amazed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> major thought: powerful!boi = harry's magic makes his scar glow. you can't change my mind.


	3. - trois -

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i guess i skipped chap. 3 somehow? forgive me.

Dinner after that was more than a little uneventful. Scorpius introduced Nat and Nick to his cousin Ava and afterwards to her parents.

The table was bursting with life and Draco smiled to himself, because he had never really had this when he was home from Hogwarts. He had yelling and cursing and a dark lord threatening to kill him everyday. He took a deep breath and Harry almost unconsciously placed a calming hand into his thigh. Draco smiled and intertwined their fingers together. He leaned into Harry before whispering in his ear.

"You know we can't keep them forever, don't you?"

 

"They're staying here for the rest of summer," the ravenette says, mind already made up, instead of answering the question.

 

"I expected no less," responded the blonde then kissed his husband's shoulder before turning back to look at all of the people at the table and clearing hia throat. "So...Ava, are you ready to go to Hogwarts, dear?"

 

"I don't really know, Uncle Draco." If she noticed the shock on Draco's face at the affection title she didn't show it. "I've never been out of my school and mummy's never even been to this Hogwarts place and daddy didn't go because he can't do magic." She was picking at the vegetables on her plate as she spoke, grabbing a spoonful of peas before dumping them back onto the the plate over and over again.

 

"Nothing to be scared of," Harry said with a soft smile, looking down the table at her. She was a few seats down, and he smiled at her when she  finally looked up. "I didn't know anything or anybody when I went to Hogwarts. You'll have us. It'll be fine."

 

"Yeah," put in Teddy standing up and putting one foot in his chair for dramatic effect. "I'll protect you!"

Ava laughed and Scorpius threw a pea at his brother. Noticing the commotion around the rest of the table, Lyra and Anita who had been calmly sitting in their high chairs while the enchanted spoons fed them were now bouncing and giggling and taking notes from Scorpius on how to throw mashed peas.

"No!" said the ravenette standing up and picking up one of the girls. Draco was right behind him.

 

"What do you mean she'll'have you'?" Dudley asked laying his own utensils down on top of his plate and looking very confused. Harry didn't look any better off, to be honest.

 

"They're professors," Nick said looking down the table. "They teach Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts."

 

"Oh," said Dudley. Then he was staring at Harry so hard the darker man was starting to feel like he was being put on the spot and started blushing. "You'll keep'er safe, won't you? If anything goes wrong, you'll make sure she's okay?"

Harry nodded firmly.

"I helped you, didn't I?"

Dudley gave him a relieved grin, but when Vivian leaned closer to ask him what he was talking about he just shook his head as if to let her know he'd tell her later. Draco also looked between the two with confusion before letting it go. Even if he barely knew the Dursleys, he liked Ava and he trusted Harry.

When dinner was finally over Teddy and Scorpius went to show Nick and Nat to their rooms for the summer.

"You lot are happy to stay the night as well," Draco told Vivian with a smile as she looked down at Lyra Narcissa who was happily giggling while playing with her father's soft blonde hair.

 

"How did you both manage to find someone to carry them that look so much like you?" the woman asked seemingly out of nowhere.

 

"We didn't."

 

"So did you carry them, then?"

 

"No, Harry did."

 

When she realized he was being serious, her eyes grew wide.

 

"Wow."

 

"Why do you ask?" he asked and she looked around as if she would be overheard, but Harry who was bouncing little Anita had sent Ava upstairs with the other kids and was also showing Dudley up to a room.

 

"We've been trying for a second, but...well I wasn't even supposed to be able to have kids, so Ava was a miracle. We thought maybe I could do it again, but it's been years. I was hoping that if you had found someone to carry for you, you could help us out."

 

"I don't know of anyone specifically, who could carry," he said purposefully not mentioning Harry, because the bloody martyr he was, he would give birth for anyone in world if he could. "Though a lot of kids were left without parents after the war. They're teenagers at this point, but you could always adopt. If you wanted to give birth, then there were also a few pregnant women who died during the war. Their wombs were removed and put under stasis charms, but I'm not sure how those embryos would have held up this long. In theory you could end up carrying for months and the child die anyway. Harry has a friend that is great with this sort of thing, though. I'm sure she'd be more help than I would."

She was crying as she thanked him, but he knew it would be okay. He would help her if he could. Just like he was still trying to help Blaise.

"Would you like to hold her?" he asked, untangling his baby girl from his hair. Vivian only nodded before reaching out and pulling the giggling bundle into her arms. Lyra gave her a toothless grin before reaching out to touch her short curly hair.

A crash sounded upstairs just before Harry yelled: "Hey, Malfoy!" in his 'please-don't-be-mad' voice.

Draco rolled his eyes but smiled and nodded his head towards the stairs.

"Let's go see what my husband has gotten into this time," he said to Vivian before calling back to the worrisome ravenette upstairs. "It better not be father's china!"

 

"Tell Lucius to stop leaving his china all over the bloody house!"

 

"He was hiding it from the Weasleys!"

 

"And he thought the third floor linen closet was the best place to do that?"

Vivian was laughing as they made their way up the stairs and when he looked back at her, he couldn't tell she had ever been crying. He smiled again.


	4. - quarte -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its exam season. all mistakes are mine.

"Remind me," said Nick, sitting on the floor of Scorpius' lounge surrounded by pieces of broken porcelain. "Why we're the ones who have to put your grandad's china back together."

 

"Because he's still on punishment and dads have to put the twins to sleep," Teddy answered while waving his wand.

 

"I didn't think we were supposed to even use magic out of school," Nat said clutching at the plate Teddy had just fixed and staring at Nick angrily. They had been happy to see each other when they had first gotten to the manor, but they've been acting like strangers ever since.

 

"Malfoy Manor is full of old family magic," said the only blood-bound Malfoy in the room. "There aren't many rules it can't overrule. Within manor grounds, there's no trace so underage magic isn't outlawed. Pa would prefer we didn't use magic all the time, but it's a wizarding home. By definition, it basically is magic. Just living here would count as underage use of magic."

 

"We didn't ask for a History of Magical Homes and Theories class, Scorp, but thank you," said Teddy noticing the tension in the room and laying back into the carpet while stretching his arms out.

 

"Cool," said Ava staring at the rest of them as they all still waved and swished their wands at the seemingly endless amounts of porcelain surrounding them. Each fixing one plate at a time. "Will I learn how to do that?"

 

"Yeah, it's basic transfiguration and alchemy. Equivalent exchange and stuff, ya know?" Teddy said from his place on the floor before shrugging.

 

"I have no idea what half of those words even mean," she responded with a roll of her eyes as though he should have known that (and Scorpius thought he should've). "Never lived in a magical home or whatever, remember?"

Teddy sat up and gave her a self depreciating grin.

"My bad," he said through a laugh before laying back again.

 

"So..." Scorpius said directed at the twins, in an attempt to change the subject. "W-what exactly hap-happened at your house?"

Nat freezes and Nick drops the plate he was holding, forcing Teddy to fix it again. The blue haired boy shoves his brother before responding and waving his wand in an attempt to fix the rest of the plates.

"Learn tact, genius." Teddy rolled his eyes and knocked his brother against the head again as he spoke.

 

"Sorry," Scorpius mumbled. "I d-didn't mean to pry."

 

"We know," Nick and Nat said at the same time, but they didn't look happy to be in unison. And slid a few feet apart without looking at each other. The blonde boy bit down on his lip, because he wanted to ask about that too. As the tension grew, Ava stood up abruptly and walked towards the door.

 

"Not to be rude, but I don't know any of you, and you're getting super weird." She thumbed towards the door. "Can someone show me where I can sleep or are we all bunking here?"

Teddy stood up and brushed the bits of plate chalk from his pants, then ruffled Scorpius' hair before throwing an arm over Ava's shoulder.

"I think it's getting kinda weird in here too, Ava," he said looking back at the three anxious looking ravenclaws and pulling her out into the corridor before leading her to where she was supposed to sleep. After a moment Natalie spoke.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Scorp, promise. We're just...adjusting, ya know? We'll tell you what's going on, just not right now, alright?"

He nodded, but he was still not looking at them. Without asking, they helped him levitate the plates back to the curio downstairs where they belonged then he led them to their own rooms. He was still a bit hurt that Nick probably hated him, but they were still friends, at least he thought they were, and friends were there for each other. When he led Nick to the bedroom closest to his, he told himself it was because he was trying to be a better friend and didn't question himself further.

 

**\--:--**

 

Harry had just finished casting a protecting charm around his daughters when two pale arms wrapped around his waist and a pointed chin was gingerly placed onto his shoulder. Harry leaned back into his husband's embrace with a content sigh.

 

"So," said the blonde after a beat of silence. "Are you going to tell me what happened at the Stevenson house?"

 

"From what I could gather?"

 

"No," Draco started sarcastically. "From what you got after interviewing them. Of course from what you could gather."

 

"Their dad has been beating on them and their mom. Apparently before he came for help, Nick used a spell to pin Natalie to the wall so their dad couldn't reach her. When I got there he was trying to beat her down with a broom."

 

"There's going to be a letter from the ministry here tomorrow, calling for a hearing to expel him, you know that don't you?" the blonde said, putting his forehead on Harry's shoulder wearily. "He still has the trace on him."

The ravenette placed his hands over his husband's soft ones and squeezed.

"We've been through worse."

 

"Your sheer optimism is astonishing," Draco said lifting his head and placing a kiss on Harry's cheek.

 

"It's a gift, I think."

 

"It's bloody annoying, is what it is."

 

" _You're_ bloody annoying."

 

"But you love me anyway," Draco said without missing a beat.

 

"Yeah, I do," said Harry, turning around in Draco's arms, placing a soft kiss to his nose and smiling when it scrunched up.

 

"You know, your cousin isn't so bad."

 

Harry tried to push away images of being pushed and shoved and punched and kicked and- He shrugged.

"He grew up."

 

"Happens to the best of us, so I hear." Draco knew Harry's childhood was rough. He knew, just like Dudley, that it was partially his fault, but he also knew that Harry acted like he was practically made for forgiveness. He'd seen too much death to take anyone for granted.

 

"C'mon," Harry said finally placing a chaste kiss to his husband's lips, "long day tomorrow. Let's get to bed."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i really like harry and draco here. i feel like i need to write some stand-alone drarry now...hmmm


	5. - cinq -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kinda triggering i guess, but not overtly it's more like drawn conclusions
> 
> ALSO ALSO ALSO if you haven't read chapter 3 -trois- then uh go do that...i posted 4 -quarte- by mistake somehow idK.

As expected, the Malfoy-Potter household was woken up early the next morning by the insistent tap-scratching of a ministry appointed owl at the bedroom window, a follow up owl during breakfast and a floo visit from Minister Shacklebot himself, who Scorpius was too young to remember fondly, but knows that that just means the man had been minister almost as long as he'd been alive.

As the room got more tense, therl Dursleys excused themselves politely and took their leave, but not before Harry promised to call and help them go school shopping by September. Anita Lily and Lyra Narcissa were bobbing in their high chairs as the enchanted spoons fed them oatmeal while the rest of the kids sat around the table twitching with nervous energy.

"Harry. Draco," said Shacklebot, dusting himself off as he stepped out of the fireplace acknowledging both men. "Sorry to have to visit in these circumstances, but being that you two are the current guardians of Nicholas and Natalie Stevenson, you are both called to the hearing of Nicholas Stevenson for use of underage magic outside of Hogwarts. The trial is in three days."

 

"Kingsley," Harry said carefully, staring into the eyes of a man who fought with him through a war, who had fought wars before then, who has fought plenty of wars since. "What'll happen if he's found guilty? Will they send him to Azkaban? He's just a _kid_."

 

"I'm not sure anymore. Azkaban isn't as bad now that the dementors are gone and they're sending more and more people there. That's why I decided to come instead of sending anyone else." Kingsley placed his large hands on the now taller man's cheeks and stared into his eyes. "He's not your son Harry, they could pull him out of Hogwarts and send him off permanently and I don't think there'd be anything you coukd do to legally stop them. I have the final vote, but it's ultimately not my decision."

Draco cleared his throat and stepped forward with as much power as he could force forward.

"How can we stop him from getting kicked out? As his professors, couldn't we speak on his behalf? Or as his current guardians or-"

 

"It all depends on his parents' and his sister's testimony at this point," the minister said dropping his hands from Harry's face and turning to speak to the blond man, placing a hand on his bicep calmingly. "I'm sorry, but I must be heading out now."

He stepped back from both of them after patting both of them on the shoulder. He nodded and headed for the door to disapparate on the other side of the gate. When the huge dark oak doors of the manor closed behind him Scorpius was hugging his father from behind, both all pale skin and jutting angles.

"You c-c-can't let them t-take him out of school, Dads, p-please."

Harry had to practically pry the younger boy off of his husband as he replied.

"It's not really up to us anymore, Scorp." The darker man was running a soothing hand through his son's hair as he spoke. "We're going to try our best, but it's ultimately up to the Wizengamot."

 

"B-but you got Dad out w-when he had b-b-been working for Voldem-mort after the war. We learned that in class!" Scorpius pleaded.

 

"I'm not Harry Potter, _The-Chosen-One_ , anymore though, Scorpius. Now, I'm just Professor Potter who married a Malfoy and has a house full of kids. I don't think anyone really wants to hear what I have to say..."

 

"As always," Draco cut in. "You're so bloody humble that you don't understand that all of wizarding Britain (and further) owes you their lives. Doesn't matter how long it'sbeen."

Scorpius tried not to snort, but Teddy had no problem doing it for him.

"You just never go anywhere, Pops," Teddy says. "And if you do, it's to muggle places. I can assure you that you still have _plenty_ of admirers."

 

"When you were giving birth to the girls, St. Mungos was practically under attack by paparazzi not to mention witches and wizards who weren't even affiliated with any papers who were trying to catch a glimpse of _the great Harry Potter_.

 

"Why does everything you say sound like an insult," Harry pouted, staring at his husband who only looked thoughtful for a moment.

 

"Probably because it usually is."

 

"What if- uh- What if I just went home?" Nick asked, speaking up for the first time all morning. "What if Nat just stayed here with you guys and I went home with my mum and...I mean, this is all my fault anyway. I made our dad upset and I stuck Nat to the wall. Maybe if I just went back home-"

 

"It's not your fault your father's a bloody psycho, I promise," Draco said kneeling a little in front of Nick who was still sitting at the dining room table with his head down.

 

"H-he's not. Things are just- uh- hard for him. And I shouldn't have said anything last night, I knew he was angry and I pushed it anyway..."

 

Draco stepped back as if he had been shocked before looking at an angrily nodding Natalie, as if she agreed with her brother. As if it was his fault. As if they got to choose what type of crazy their parents were. He turned his attention to the boys.

 

"Teddy, Scorp, take your sisters and go play in the nursery for a bit, yeah?" Draco said and when Scorpius tried to protest Harry spoke up.

 

" _Now_ , boys."

Once the boys had taken the baby girls out of the room, the men led the Stevenson twins to a sitting room where they sat them in a two-seater couch before taking the arm chairs directly across from them.

"Listen," the blonde started softly, looking down at the black haired kids in front of them. "Both Harry and I went through bits of our childhoods that were full of abuse. Things we wanted to change, but didn't because we had been led to believe that ir was our fault. It doesn't matter what happened or what was said, if you don't feel safe in your own home that isn't your fault. That should never be your fault, okay?"

 

"But I should have just let him-" Nick started before shaking his head.

 

"Should have just let him what, Nick?" asked Harry, trembling with magic.

 

"Use my wand."

 

"Why didn't you? I thought your dad was a squib," the darker man said questioningly and the boy glanced at his sister before staring back down at the table.

 

"My dad only knows one spell. He's not a squib cause he has no magic at all, he's a squib cause his magical core is so small he can't do much magic even if he knows how."

 

"What spell does he know?" Draco asked softly.

 

"It's a stripping spell..." Nick said practically in a whisper, forcibly not looking protectively at his sister and in seconds, both Harry and Draco realized why they couldn't see bruises on Natalie the same way they saw them on her brother.

 

"I'm going to end him," Draco said abruptly, standing and walking from the room.

 

"Not without me," Harry agreed just behind him. When the twins tried to argue that they deserved it or that they were bad kids or whatever other bullshit they had been fed, by their father, the pale man raised his wands and strapped them into their seat before sending the lounge zooming up the stairs towards Scorpius' room.

 

"Boys!" he yelled up the steps.

 

"We'll be back!" his husband finished before wrapping a tight arm around his waist and apparating them back to the address he had just left the night


	6. - six -

They could have just apparated directly into the small cabin sized house. It would have been easy since the place had no real warding other than a few **Beware Dog** and **No Trespassing** signs, but that would have denied Draco the pleasure of blasting the door in.

The resulting debris put a proud gleam in Harry's eyes as they both stepped further into the house. The ravenette pulled his wand out as Mr. Eugene Stevenson came stomping from another room angrily.

"Twice in one night! What, kidnappin' my kids ain't 'nuff for ya? I should call the bloody p'lice," he slurred.

 

"You hear that, Potter? He's gonna call the police," Draco teased menacingly.

 

"Great, it'd sure save us time."

 

Harry held his arm out, palm facing outward, when he felt his magic being pulled taught he balled his hand into a fist and yanked it sideways, sending the drunk man flying into the wall in the other side of the room. The sound of the shelves breaking brought another set of footsteps pitter-pattering down the stairs.

The woman of the household, Sierra Stevenson, looked over at her now unconscious husband and then at the two men in her greeting hall, using a spell to repair her door, before she finally realized who they were.

"M-Mr. Potter, you came back. After last night, I didn't think you would. The twins- Are they-" She had made it to the bottom of the stairs now and the men noticed how small she was in weight _and_ in stature. Draco stood to the side staring at her with a questioning expression that Harry couldn't quite place before the blond put a pale hand on the woman's dark hair. He brushed the hair back with his hands in a sort of soothing motion as he spoke. Harry was staring at husband fondly prior to walking away to locate a phone and call the police. He cast a wandless body-bind on the man lying on the floor on his way out.

"Natalie and Nicholas are fine, we promise. They're at our house, hopefully preparing for bed." Draco was still smoothing her hair down until she looked infinitesimally calmer. Her dressing clothes were covered in blood and there was a healing salve patch over a slowly healing scar on the left side of her forehead, another on her lip, a larger one on her neck and he spoke up again. "We're working on contacting the police to report child abuse in the household, but I need to know if you want us to report this too," he said rubbing his thumb across the patch on her forehead.

She nodded slowly before tears were making its way down her face.

"It's a-all my fault!" she sobbed. "I'm supposed to protect them! That's what mothers do!"

Draco was shocked to say the least, when she wrapped two arms around him and started crying into his shirt. When he wrapped his arms back around her, he was shocked again by how small she was. He looked up and found Harry looking just as distressed but determined as he felt. Their eyes met and the decision was made.

"Mrs. Stevenson," said Harry stepping back into the room.

 

"It's S-Sierra," she supplied still crying.

 

"Okay," Harry said scratching the back of his neck. "Sierra-"

 

"You don't have to agree," Draco hedged through interruption.

 

"But we would like to extend an invitation for you to stay with us at the manor for as long as you'd like."

She pulled away from Draco's chest to look him in the eyes, then she turned to Harry and stared at him as well before going into another fit of tears.

"You- I couldn't..." she said conflicted.

 

"Almost 10 years ago, my wife died," Draco said out of nowhere, but his eyes never left Sierra's. "I had been angry and irritable and for whatever reason, I had decided that throwing on a glamour and walking around muggle London with a three year old who was still experiencing bursts of accidental magic would help calm me down. When it didn't, I stopped in front of some store to pick up some candy or something but I couldn't for the life of me figure out muggle currency. I hadn't even thought about exchanging my galleons or knuts over before leaving I had just gone on a whim, I guess. But there was a woman there who saw me struggling and paid for my groceries. That was you, wasn't it?"

Sierra's eyes grew in realization and she blushed as she looked down. "It wasn't anything. I didn't realize it was you at the time. As close as it was to battle rememberance day, if I had known, I probably wouldn't have done it..."

 

"Do you remember what you said when I tried to tell you I wouldn't accept handouts?" Draco said ignoring her comment. If he had been anyone else 10 years ago, he wouldn't have helped him either. When she shook her head he kept talking. "I think it was something like 'take the bloody help when it's offered'." Harry snorted and Sierra grinned, though there were still tear stains on her cheeks.

 

"I see she left quite the impression on ya there, Malfoy," Harry said with another fond smile.

 

"Of course she did. I never left the manor and my mother and my friends were all coddling me. I hate being coddled. She were the first person to treat me like I wasn't so fragile in ages. This," he said with emphasis, "is me returning the favor. Now, Harry sodding Potter just invited you stay with his family in his husband's large family manor house for as long as you want. You're kids are already there. We love your kids like they were our own."

 

"They're great kids," Harry agreed.

 

"So," said Draco calmly, holding her by her shoulders at arms length so he could convey how much he meant the next few words he was about to say. " _Take the bloody help when it's offered_."

Somehow that surprised a laugh out of her and she nodded before thanking them both and going upstairs to change clothes and pack her things, not that she has much.

"I'm proud of you," Harry said throwing his arms around Draco's neck and pecking his lips.

 

"For being a decent human being?" he asked sarcastically.

 

"Yes," Harry said with a playful smirk. "Exactly."

It didn't take long for the police to show up and when the pair heard someone knocking at the door, Harry took the body bind off of Eugene before opening the door and telling the officer what happened...without mentioning magic at least.

"My sister called so my husband and I came to check on her," Harry said as Sierra made her way down the stairs. She was no longer wearing the healing salve patches, but the places where they had been were a stark red against her sunkissed skin. "She doesn't talk about it, but I know how he can get when he's drunk..." Harry's eyes had gone sort of glazed and Draco bit dow  on his tongue to keep himself from asking. Instead he took a breath and turned to the officers.

"We're just glad we made it here in time," he said honestly. "We're going to take her to our house for as long as she wants to stay."

 

"You're lucky to have family like this in your life," the officer said with a smile that slowly fell away, "not everyone does."

 

"Yeah," Sierra said, holding a small suitcase and looking down at her feet in a sort of quiet awe. "I am."

The officers came in and arrested the slowly waking Eugene, who barked like a madman once he was fully conscious and yet still being dragged towards the door.

"You gonna just lett'em take me away, huh?" he screeched, fighting at the men hauling him away. "Fine! I never fucking loved you anyway. I hope you die, bitch!"

He was snatched out of the door by the police who looked apologetically at Sierra.

"Alright, that's enough out of you," they heard as the cops tossed him into the backseat of the car. Harry turned to her with a sad yet playful smile.

 

"Well, sis, are you ready to go?"

 

"I've never had a brother," she said softly and he shrugged.

 

"For all intents and purposes," he started as Draco prepared the floo. "You do now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for not updating, but im home from uni, & i lowkey [read highkey] hate being home during break so it f*cks with my depression and along with that im kind of in the midst of going abroad in like a coupla weeks so ive been packing and prepping and stuff like that.
> 
> really hope you guys enjoy this chappie. lemme know, yeah?


	7. - sept -

"Masters should know that the guests and young masters have gone back to bed," said Pippa the house elf once Harry and Draco had entered one of the sitting rooms with Sierra in tow and began dusting soot from their clothes.

 

"Thank you, Pippa," Harry said with a grin at the cheerful elf. "Would you mind setting up quarters for Mrs. Stevenson, before you head off?"

 

"House elves are here to serve, Master Harry," said the elf seriously while removing her hat and curtseying towards yet another guest. "House elves are proud to serve their masters."

She was gone with a pop and Draco snorted at his husband.

"You've offended her."

 

"Wha- how?" sputtered Harry.

 

"You asked if she would mind setting up a room. House elves don't mind anything so long as it's good for the household they serve. They'd cancel plans if it meant they could serve us more effectively."

 

"I didn't know," said the darker man with a groan that made Draco chuckle and Sierra break into a giggle that was soon a hysterical laugh. Both men turned to look at her surprised, but she was on the floor with tears running down her face, and still erupting inlaughter.

 

"I don't know why I'm laughing," she insisted and Harry crouched next to her.

 

"You've been awake all night, but now you're safe and you're free," he said softly. "You deserve to laugh."

It didn't take long for her to tire herself out and she fell asleep awkwardly on the floor and Harry lifted her bridal style and had Draco lead him to her quarters. The blond's magic was more in tune with the manor, he could tell which place had been most recently set aside. Harry didn't know the specifics and he didn't really care enough to ask. Magical Home Theory wasn't his specialty.

As they were walking back to their own quarters, Harry with his arm wrapped around Draco's waist and his head lightly on his shoulder, Draco smiled down at him.

"The day has barely started and I'm already tired," Harry said.

 

"And we actually got to sleep last night. Remember the twins dad said 'twice in one night?' He's drinking more than just alcohol."

 

"Brilliant," said Harry sarcastically, reaching his free hand up to rub the bridge of his nose. "Now we have to report him to the DMLE too. Do you think the kids know?"

 

"I think it'd be hard for them not to."

Harry got very quiet when they finally made it into their room.

"Oh, don't do that," Draco said when he had looked at his husband's face.

 

"I didn't do anything."

 

"Don't make that face. That face screams _we-have-to-help-them_."

 

"But we _do_ have to help them," said Harry practically whining.

 

"We have helped them; we _are_ helping them, so stop whatever you're thinking right now."

The ravenette pushed his bottom lip out in his approximation of a pout, but Draco wasn't budging. He pulled him over to the closet and wrapped both arms around his husband from behind before placing a kiss to his shoulder.

"I don't know why you expect me to pick something you'd deem even slightly passable," Harry said changing the subject and reaching into the closet anyway to find something to wear to Nick's hearing. When he reached a hand into the closet and pulled out something that Draco did not in fact deem passable, he was shoved out of the way.

"You're no help," Draco said waving his wand and creating a flurry of outfits that he observed with a critical eye. "Go get the kids ready."

 

"They're practically adults, Draco, they don't need my help."

When the blond turned around with a pointed glare Harry took the hint and scurried from the room and headed to the girl's nursery before going to Scorpius and Teddy's wing.

Two dirty diapers, and a baby on each hip later, Harry was sending a knocking charm down the hallway. When Teddy peeked his head out looking bleary-eyed and pink haired, the ravenette smiled fondly.

"Wotcher, Teddy?"

 

"Pops," he acknowledged with a lopsided and still tired smile, before coming out of the room only in a pair of hufflepuff-colored plaid pajama bottoms. Once he had come closer, he lowered his head a little to coo at the twins and tickle their feet.

 

"Mind waking up your brother and the twins? Nick has his hearing today and I think he'd appreciate it if we were all there to support him, yeah?" Harry said, adjusting the girls on his hips and Teddy reached his hands out with excitement, to which Harry pushed one hip forward so that Teddy could grab baby Lyra who immediately started beating on him to lift her higher, which he did with no arguments. With a free hand, he sent his father a one-fingered salute then turned and walked towards the rest of the rooms, opening doors and screaming inside.

Harry laughed when he heard what he was sure was Scorpius falling to the floor with a thump and a screech.

"W-what in M-merlin's s-sag-gy bollocks-" Scorpius started, throwing his door open and stumbling out into the hallway, tripping over his sheets.

 

"Language, Scorp," Harry said still laughing.

 

"Those aren't even b-bad!"

 

"Then uh- context, I guess."

Teddy snorts from down the hall and Nick and Nat come out from where he assumed they decided to bunk together in the new space, scratching their heads and shuffling to see what was going on.

"You have a hearing," said Teddy without much preamble. "For the whole- whatever it was at your house, I guess. We have to get dressed."

 

"I- so- does that mean-" Nick said stuttering through his sentence nervously before his sister nudged him, without looking up from where she was tracing the fleur patterns in the hall rug with her eyes.

 

"Do we have to go home?" she said for him.

 

"You shouldn't have to," Harry responded without explanation just before Anita burst into a fussy fit, causing her sister to join her and scare Teddy's hair Weasley red.

 

"Okay," said Scorpius. "Brunch."

 

"Or," Teddy said while trying to coddle Lyra, "as I like to call it: Breakfast number two."

 

" _That_ is very unappealing," Natalie said definitively with a light hand on his shoulder before turning to Scorpius, "but, show me to the table, Brunch-Boy."

It didn't take long for Harry to cave after that.

"Fine! Brunch then we have to get dressed the hearing's in like-" he cast a tempus before letting out a bit of a squeak. "Three hours!"

 

"If we do instant pancakes with leftover sausages it's like double decker breakfast," Natalie says.

 

"And it's mobile," Nick puts in. "It's how we used to do it in the mornings before we started Hogwarts."

 

" _O~kay_ , pancake sandwiches it is," the ravenette man concedes. The kids cheer but he isn't quite done as he called forth both high chairs from the cupboard to the kitchen and placed Anita in it. He turned to grab Lyra, putting her in her own and still thinking. He turns to the group of teens with a raised eyebrow. "Now, did any of you bathe last night?"

 

"What was that, Pops?" Teddy asked, backing out of the kitchen. "I can't- uh...hear you. I think Father called me, sorry."

As soon as he was clear, he turned and sprinted the rest of the way to his room, followed closely by the rest of the kids rushing to hide from a disciplinary Harry Potter.

He stood in the kitchen trying to force himself to stop laughing.


	8. - huit -

Draco walked towards the kitchen while the kids were forcing themselves into the closest bathrooms possible and had to dodge the running set of mini wizards.

"Scorpius," he said warningly.

 

"It's Ted! I s-swear!" The boy responded, even as he was still pushing past his brother and chasing after the older kids up the stairs to the shower.

 

"Morning, again," the older blonde said once he had reached the doorway of the large kitchen, watching as his husband snorted a laugh, before walking in and kissing each of his daughters on the cheek. "Mind explaining why the kids are running through the house?"

 

"I asked them if they washed up at all," Harry said finally allowing himself to laugh. Draco gasped, looking appalled causing Harry to burst into laughter yet again.

 

"None of them!?"

 

"Nope," Harry said, popping the p.

 

"I- just- but why _not_?"

 

"It's summer," Harry said shrugging.

 

"That's no excuse," the blond said, still shocked.

 

"There was a lot going on last night, if I remember right. Plus, they didn't know we needed an early start today. It'll be fine, we still have a few hours."

 

"Father would die if he knew."

 

"I wouldn't cross my fingers," Harry mumbled and got a stinging hex to the bum as a response.

 

"Go finish dressing, Potter. I'll finish breakfast."

 

"Oh, thank Merlin!" the darker man said dropping the spatula as if it had bitten him. Harry was gone before Draco could say much else.

 

"Your clothes are hanging on the wardrobe door."

 

"My husband's better than yours!" Harry yelled back as he rushed upstairs.

 

"You bloody well bet he is!"

Harry laughed the rest of the way up the stairs. He stoppee when he ran into a yawning Sierra. Her short dark hair was pulled back into a small messy bun on the top of her head. She was rubbing her eyes but dropped her hands when she heard the sound of crashing furniture.

"G'morning," said Harry walking by her with a smile to go check on the kids. She grabbed his wrist before he could get any further and he stopped to look at her expectantly.

 

"Thank you again, Mr. Potter. I can't tell you how much it means to have you doing this for me and my kids." She was looking down as she spoke and he placed a hand on her arm to get her to look up.

 

"Don't worry about it. We love your kids, they've been great friends to Scorpius and they're wonderful students. Oh, and Sierra?"

 

"Hm?"

 

"Just call me Harry."

She nodded and laughed, but let him go all the same. He smiled crookedly at her before turning abruptly and makinghis way towards the crashing noises. When he rounded the corner Teddy was in the middle of morphing into Draco and Harry tried to conceal his snort of amusement when he did it almost on the first try. The hair was too long and the shoulders were not quite narrow enough, but it was a great likeness. Harry would have thought it was him if he didn't know better. If he hadn't known Draco's body better than his own.

"Something's not right," Harry heard Scorpius say confused from the room. "You look like him, but I can tell you aren't him, still. Does that make sense?"

 

"Absolutely," Harry says surprising the now washed and dressed bunch of kids as he made his way into the room. "You know him well enough to spot the little differences. That's good, so you won't be fooled as easily. Ted could probably morph into me a bit better. Why not give it a go, Ted."

 

"I'm trying to work from memory only, Pops, but you're already here. Oh!" he said finally, "I'll try Gam."

Harry knew how hard Teddy had taken it when Andromeda died. He barely talked about it even now, it was too painful so the ravenette let him have this. Teddy shrank in height. His shoulders, hips and torso widened quite a bit, his legs following shortly after. His hair was long and pale brown with wisps of aged silver. His face was the last to morph, though it wasn't too much of a change considering he started with Draco's as a base. He blinked a few times to get the eyes right before he turned to his dad expectantly as if he had forgotten what she looked like and needed reassurance and Harry almost sobbed when he realized that's exactly what was going on. He looked just like her down to the twitch of the lips.

"Spot on, Ted," said Harry. "She would have been proud of you."

 

"No she wouldn't've," Teddy snorted as he morphed back into himself. "She would have wanted me to stop playing around so much and get serious."

 

"You know she loved you," Harry said quietly stepping forward to pull the boy into his arms.

 

"Yeah," the boy said thickly, still stopping himself from crying as he laid his head on his dad's chest. "I know."

When he pulled away he was all smiles again. Scorpius looked up into Harry's eyes sadly, because he had never particularly got the best impression of Andromeda, but she was family and thats all that mattered right now.

"Alright then," said Harry standing up a bit straighter. "You lot can head downstairs for breakfast, I'm gonna finish getting dressed and meet you down there."

There were smiles all around as the kids rushed past him and down into the kitchen, though Nick did slow to a stop once everyone else had gone.

"Uh...Professor Potter, sir?"

 

"What d'you need, Nick?"

 

"Just- well, sir...I'm going to be okay, aren't I? I'm not going to get sent to Azkaban, right? They aren't going to break my wand or- or I don't know..."

 

"Nick, take a deep breath. You're going to be fine. Draco and I wouldn't let anything happen to you. I promise."

 

"Thanks, sir."

 

"Nothing to thank me for." Harry shrugged and continued walking towards his room. "Now, go have breakfast before Teddy eats it all."

Nick continued staring at Harry's retreating back with an anxious look before finally turning on his heel and rushing down for breakfast.


	9. - neuf -

"Nicholas Stevenson stands accused for using underage magic against his twin sister in the presence of both of his non-magical parents. He is joined and defended by Professors Harry and Draco Malfoy-Potter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Natalie laid her head on Teddy's shoulder as a sob racked through her body. She had already been given the rules about Ministry functions. She knew Nick was helping her...well she knew that _now_ , but the way the speaker spit it at the rest of the Wizengamot made her shake with how much she felt like her brother hated her. Like he was using her for bait so he could get away. She sobbed harder. Teddy placed a calming hand on her back. Another hand was rubbing soothing circles on her back, and when she looked up, her mother was standing there in all her muggle dark haired beauty, with a soft smile.

"Your brother's stronger than you think, Nat," she whispered still smiling, "you both are."

 

"I'm glad you're here, mum."

 

"Glad I could b-," she stopped midsentence when she noticed they were taking Nick out of the prisoner cage and onto the floor for trial.

The chains around his wrists and ankles were connected to a metal bar that ran the length of his back, preventing him from bending or tapping into his magical core before the trial was over. He was sat in a chair in the middle of the room and thats when the hard part began, questioning. Veritaserum was a potion only used in extreme cases of guilt or innocence, Harry hadn't thought they would ever use it for a case like this that had so much of both. It was when he first felt nervous. Draco gripped his hand tighter when he started fiddling too much and he gave his husband a small thankful smile. The blonde only nodded clinically and in a stark moment of clarity Harry remembers being in that chair for practically doing the same thing. He remembers seeing Draco sitting there after the war, when he spoke at his trial. He had looked different then; not quite as proud. He looked torn and terribly thin and terrified. He looked down at Nick from their place in the stands and although he didn't look pale or sickly he was thin, in a way that lots of tall knobly teenagers are, but he also looked terrified and resigned to a fate he wasn't even sure of.

The wizards acting as Ministry Officiated Lawyers, asked Nick a few base questions to test the serum. Obvious ones, like his name, that fell from his lips quickly; and more complicated ones, like pinpointing the size of the universe, which had him choking and groaning and trying not to let everyone see how much pain he was in.

The trial went on for almost 2 hours before they finally called Harry and Draco to testify.

"Hello, Mr. Potter," said the chief warlock looking only at Harry even as they _both_ sat before the Wizengamot. Draco growled low in his throat, but Harry rubbed random patterns onto the back of his hand.

 

"Chief Warlock, Wornston," he acknowledged with a nod.

 

"Would you please tell the rest of the court about the young man on trial today. As his professors, anything you," he looked towards Draco for a split second before looking back towards Harry again, "or your husband know will be most valuable."

 

"Permission to speak," Draco says in a sickly sweet voice. When he's approved he starts on Nick's track record as a brilliant Ravenclaw, best in the class only tied with his sister and Scorpius. His voice is loud and he knows what he's talking about and Harry is sure his trousers are now two sizes too small, but when he looks around the court, no one is taking anything he's saying very seriously. He's written books and taught some of their children, yet when Draco talks in front of the Wizengamot, all they see is his own track record as a follower of You-Know-Who; a death eater they let go. It's all they want to see.

Angrily, Harry stood and placed a hand on his husband's bicep to get him to sit back down.

"Are you lot deaf?" he asked practically seething.

 

"Of course not, Mr. Potter," speaks a witch of the court nodding politely and grinning at him in a feral way he did _not_ like at all.

 

"Then it's interesting that none of you were listening to what the hell my husband was trying to say. Sorry, love," he ammends, turning to Draco still quite angry. "So I guess I'm talking now. Alright, I'm going to tell you lot and the Chief Warlock the truth: Nick did use magic on his twin in front of their parents, but you're going to let him go free because I'm standing here telling you that he's a great student who was acting in defense of himself, his sister and his mother."

 

"And how," asked Chief Warlock, Mateo Wornston, "would you know that, Mr. Potter?"

 

"Because his mother is here with us as well. We had to save her from a domestically abusive situation."

 

"Will the mother...eh- Sierra Stevenson, please stand and acknowledge the court."

Sierra stood up with grace Harry had only seen in Malfoy's before, but maybe it was only because he had been raised to serve; his family, the entire wizarding world. He truly didn't know any better. Sierra wasn't proud, but she wasn't ashamed either. She was stronger than they would ever give her credit for as a muggle, but she didn't care. She was there for her children; they were all that mattered.

"Mrs. Stevenson, is it?" asked Wornston and she nodded at him once, stiff and sure. "Would you let us subject your son to questioning about your prior situation?"

 

"I would prefer you just questioned me," she said loudly. She wasn't going to let these bloody wizards scare her off.

 

"I'm sorry to say it is against the law to subject muggles to questioning under veritaserum. Your son is already under its affects, though," he tried to say convincingly, "we can ask him before he recovers."

She nodded, but continued to stand. He paid her no more attention once he started asking Nick questions.

"So, Nicholas, could you tell us a bit about your mother and father's relationship."

 

"S'not good," the dark haired boy said stubbornly. This was his mother's life, not his. He didn't want to talk about it. He had kept it closed off for so long that forcing him to bring it up was almost as bad as forcing him to lie under the serum. It burned his throat as the truth attempted to claw its way out and he screamed.

 

"Just tell us the truth, young man. Has your father ever hit you, your sister or your mother?"

 

"Yes," he finally said through a sob as the pain released him.

 

"Which one of you?"

 

"All of us."

 

"How often?"

 

"Whenever we're home with him."

 

"When was the last time?"

 

"Yesterday."

 

"Then why can't we see any proof of this?" said an older wizard from the Wizengamot, flippantly, with an annoyed roll of his eyes, as if he had somewhere else to be.

 

"The Professors healed my sister and I because we were in pain, sir."

 

"And what about your mum? She seems just fine to me," he said with a huff and an elaborate wave of his hand, before pointing threateningly at Nick. "This is probably all just some big ruse to get you off the hook."

Before another word could be said, Sierra was removing her button-up top and standing in front of the court room full of wizards in trousers and a bra, her torso covered in bruises. When the questioning man glanced away she finally lost it.

"LOOK AT ME!" she yelled standing in her seat. "You wanted proof, you sicko? Here I am, so don't you bloody fucking dare look _away_!"

She stole the attention of everyone in the room. The witches were frozen in both awe and terror and sympathy. the wizards had no choice but to acknowledge her; to see her, not just as a muggle mother, but as a human being who needed help and whose son helped her.

"Now," Harry said standing again after a moment. "I think we're done here. Who votes to let Nicholas Stevenson go free?"


	10. - dix -

There wasn't a hand lowered through the Wizengamot, though a few members didn't look as happy about it as others did. Harry nodded approvingly before climbing the steps down to recieve Nick while Draco helped Sierra with her shirt. Teddy was rubbing Natalie's back as she cried again, but with a grin on her face this time. The guard from the DMLE had barely unchained Nick before Scorpius was running into him full force, dragging him into a hug.

"I'm gl-glad you're a-alright," said the smaller boy, holding back tears.

 

"I wouldn't leave you, Scorp," Nick responded, holding Scorpius to him tightly and not caring about his hard he was crying. "I'm sorry about before."

 

"Me too," whined the little blond before Draco dragged them apart.

 

"As touching as _this_ is," he started, staring pointedly at Nick with narrowed eyes, "we need to get going."

They all made their way through the wide and somewhat mysterious corridors of the Ministry before making it to the exit floos.

"Say, Potter, why don't we send them all to the Weasleys, Molly would love the company and I think Sierra needs a bit of a motherly touch, herself. We could even go later for dinner."

Harry looked confused. Lyra and Anita were off with Narcissa during the trial and Draco never offered to eat with the Weasleys, especially after particularly stressful days, like today. The ravenette was about to open his mouth and say so when he noticed the look in his husband's eyes and agreed it sound like a pretty good idea. He flooed ahead to the burrow to see if anyone was there. When he emerged from the fireplace covered in soot and smelling the sweet scents of home he set out to find Molly in the kitchen.

Even after years of being an honorary Weasley and practically living in the Burrow, it seemed like the house changed around him.

There were muggle artifacts that had made their way into the house from the shed in baskets around the floor and hanging from the ceiling in some places. A scarf was knitting itself across the floor and Harry had to step over it as he finally rounded the corner into the kitchen, where Mother Weasley stood humming near a self stirring pot of soup, pulling tarts from the oven.

"Hey, mum," Harry said hoping he didn't startle her, but she was still trying to figure out the best angle to grab the pan.

 

"I don't need any tiny fires today, Charlie," she said still in the oven. "Ask your brother to watch the little one."

 

"Would, if I could," Harry said chuckling and she finally turned around to respond and realized who he was.

 

"Oh! Harry, dear, how are you? Are you hungry? Would you like a biscuit?" she asked pointing her wand kindly towards the cabinet with a smile.

 

"No, thanks, mum," he said with a smile and a shake of his head, "I'm just a little tired. Been a pretty busy coupl'a days. One of Scorp's friends was on trial for underage magic, but his mum and his sister..." he shook his head again. "There was a lot of violence in his house."

 

"Is he alright? Are they alright? Are you alright?" She had come round the counter by now and had grabbed his face in her hands to check for sure that he was alright. Harry gave her a soft smile before kissing her forehead.

 

"I'm fine, I promise," he laughed as she turned his head this way and that. "I just wanted to know if they could come here for a few hours. Draco and I aren't quite sure how to handle the situation..."

 

"Well, of course they can!" Molly said emphatically as if it were obvious and Harry looked at her familiar motherly face, a few more wrinkles than the last few years, red and splotchy from being upset, but round and soft and so bloody compassionate he could have almost cried. She knew nothing about these people, other than what he told her, but then again, she never knew the meaning of detached.

 

"Thank you, so much. They really are great kids, and their mother, Sierra, is wonderful too. I'm going to tell them to come through then Draco and I'll be back later for dinner," he said the last bit more like a question but she only continued nodding.

 

"Are you sending your twins over too?" She looked as if she wanted nothing more than to babysit and dote on children and he wanted to agree, but knew he should at least ask first.

 

"If you want me to," Harry said more like a question than a statement. "I mean, they're with Narcissa right now, but I could bring them when we come back for dinner."

 

"Yeah, that'll be fine. I don't want to drag them from their Nan'."

 

"For all intents and purposes," Harry said, "you're their grandma too. You know that. You've always been like a mother to me."

Molly blushed, playfully hitting him with a tea towel before shooing him towards the fireplace.

"Dinner is at 6:30, Harry!" she said loudly, as he grabbed a handful of floo powder and made his way into the fireplace. The green flames lapped at his ankles for a few second or two before his entire body was covered and he was being twisted and shaped and shot back out into the Ministry floo lobby.

Harry sat on the cool stone floor, looking up at Draco with a smile. The blonde shook his head but helped his husband up all the same.

"Well?" he questioned.

 

"To the burrow!" Harry announced and his sons cheered.

He helped Nick and Nat get through then Scorpius left, but when it was time for Teddy to go through he grabbed the twins mother as well. He wrapped a kind arm around her shoulders and shuffled with her into the fireplace. Draco's mouth flitted up at the corners as both he and Harry looked proudly at Teddy who paid them no attention as he took Sierra through the floo.

"Bloody hufflepuff," said Draco with a laugh, while dragging Harry into the floo and sending them both tumbling back to the Manor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next chappie is gonna be a bit smutty...im almost sure it's skippable if you don't wanna read it. just letting you know. love y'all
> 
> \-- luci xoxo


	11. - onze -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning ⚠️ sex/smutty stuff

__They were spit out of the fireplace into their bedroom. Draco stood and walked over to close the door then turned to Harry with an intense look in his eyes. Slowly, he unbuttoned his own robes, never breaking eye contact with his husband, though his fingers did slip a few times which caused a light blush to rush to his cheeks when Harry smiled softly at him.

"You know what I want?" Draco asked, tossing his shirt to the other side of the room and walking closer to Harry, who was now sitting at the foot of the bed looking up at him hungrily.

 

"I know you're gonna tell me," the ravenette said cheekily.

 

"Well," the blond continued with a smirk Harry found absolutely sinful, "I want you to take control the way you took control today at the ministry. I've been hard since the hearing."

 

"Oh, have you?" Harry asked with a smirk and Draco nodded while easing his way onto his husband's lap.

 

"I almost left to go to the loo and readjust my prick," he said now straddling his husband and grinding down on him. "Twice."

Harry threw his head back in a laugh before whining when Draco ground down onto him again.

"You're so bloody dramatic."

Draco stopped moving all together and narrowed his eyes at the ravenette below him. Harry placed his hands on Draco's waist and ground himself upwards.

"Oh, no you don't. I don't remember telling you to stop."

 

"Fuck, yeah, Harry, take control," said Draco with his head thrown back. His trousers are on the floor and Harry can see his prick twitch beneath his pants. He slides back before flipping them over on the bed, pinning Draco to the mattress and leaving a trail of open mouth kisses across his chest. He takes a nipple into his mouth, lightly tugging it with his teeth and loving the way Draco keens beneath him.

Harry lifts a hand and focuses his energy on Draco's wrists being tied. It takes a few tries before the material is soft yet strong enough. Draco tugs at it testing before sending a wicked grin Harry's way as the ravenette continues to kiss down his body, removing his pants with a wave of his hand. Draco's prick is hard and Harry takes a moment to stare at his husband, tied up and bare in front of him.

"Dammit, Draco, you look so beautiful like this," he said in reverence.

The blond is blushing, but he loves the attention, being praised. Harry knows that. He doesn't feel like talking right now, he'd much rather have Draco's cock in his mouth, but he whispers soft praises into the paler man's skin as he kisses down his abdomen then each thigh before finally grabbing his prick and kissing the tip of that as well. Draco is staring at him as he strokes his cock and licks a stripe up the underside.

"Gorgeous," Harry whispers. He finally takes his husband's prick into his mouth and Draco's head falls back as he swirls good tongue around the head. He slurps at it, like he never wants to stop before releasing it from his mouth with a pop. Draco looks up at him surprised as if he was caught doing something wrong, until their eyes meet and he shudders. "Look at me when I suck you off, Malfoy."

Draco's nod is almost imperceptible.

Harry smirked then moved back to suck Draco's balls into his mouth while still using his hand to stroke him off, palming the head to spread the spit and precum that was there and make his movements more smooth. When he finally did take Draco's cock back into his mouth, he wants to stay there, but he knows neither of them would last. He popped off again, a string of saliva still connecting him to the throbbing prick in front of him. Draco spread his legs and raised his knees as if on instinct and Harry pet his thighs in praise.

A whispered cleaning charm was swiftly followed by Harry accio-ing a bottle of lube only for it to smack him in the back of the head.

"Fucking hell, Harry, are you alright?" Draco asked concerned, but Harry could tell he was still biting back laughter. He stuck his tongue out in response, forcing the blond to actually laugh, then he opened the bottle, squeezing a bit of lube onto his fingers and rubbing them together to warm it up a bit before running a slick finger over Draco's puckered hole. He took his hand back to pour more lube into his hand. Moments later, when his first finger finally made its way into Draco's tight heat, he moaned, then pumped his finger in and out to loosen him up before adding a second finger. A third. He lowered his mouth to kiss his husband and pulled back, his whisper fanning across the paler man's lips.

 

"I love you."

 

Draco maneuvered his tied hands in front of him to pull Harry back into the kiss. Running his tongue across his lips then pushing forward when Harry's mouth opened for him immediately. His grip slackens, because he wants to get off with his husband before someone finds a reason to interrupt them, but he's smiling something fierce and soft and loving and Harry blushes down at him.

 

"I love you too, Harry."

 

Harry moves back with a crooked grin before putting a little more lubrication into his hand, being sure to work some onto his cock. He rubs the head against Draco's hole, after tossing the bottle elsewhere. With a bit kore pressure he's pushing into his husband with a high whining noise.

Draco raises his tied hands to Harry's chest for him to give him a moment, and he does, gladly. That moist heat is almost overwhelming and he needs a moment to compose himself too. He has Draco's legs thrown over his shoulders so he kisses one of his shins in acknowledgement.

When Draco had gotten used to the stretch and burn and feeling of being so perfectly full, he finally moves his hands away, letting Harry slowly rolls his hips into him. After a few minutes of the gentle rocking, Harry pulls almost all the way out before slamming back into him. Draco moans and they rock together like that, Harry bending over occasionally to slather kisses on any part of Draco he could reach. Putting a slight shift in his angle he started to plow into Draco's prostate and smirked down at him when his breathing hitched.

Harry is getting close, Draco can tell, so he does his best to get his tied hands to grip his prick, but then Harry stops moving all together. Only his tip is still inside of his husband and Draco moans in frustration because he knows he can't think straight right now.

 

"No touching. I don't want you to come until you're inside me. Understood?"

 

Draco nods frantically, but wanted to come as soon as Harry spit the order.

Harry speeds up his pace, because Draco was right and he was close, he feels his husband's cock thickening and spazzing, spurting warmth inside of him and Harry pulls out of him to watch his come drip out. He's mesmerized until Draco groans again and then he's moving up his body with a feral grin, his canine teeth glistening. He crawls onto Draco's body with whispered lubrication and stretching charms, then he's moaning while taking all of Draco inside of him. He grinds his hips down onto him and after a few more times, Draco releases inside of him with both of their heads thrown back.

Draco feels the magic fall from him, releasing his wrists, but he can see stars so he merely pulls the darker man down for a kiss before easing out of him and falling asleep wrapped him his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hate writing smut cause im so bad at it
> 
> & my friend was supposed to help me with this but the google doc became more of a joke than anything. lol. anyways i hope yall liked it


	12. - douze -

Harry laid his head on Draco's lap contentedly as they sat on the couch in the sitting room of the manor. They had spent the rest of the day talking through things to do for the rest of the summer. Hermione suggested over the floo that Draco finish his book series and Harry couldn't help but to agree so there they were, trying to figure out the logistics of the triwizard tournament as a writing mechanism.

"You know," said Harry quietly, looking up at him, but not wanting to disrupt their peace with their past. "Your dad was there...in the graveyard. He was there when Voldemort first came back."

Draco wasn't looking at him, but his hand stalled for only a second in its motion through his hair.

 

"I'm sorry."

 

"It's not _your_ fault."

 

"But I'm still sorry. My father's a bloody fucking cunt and I know that, okay? I do, but he's- he's my father, Harry and I can't change that. I still love him. He's trying to do better; be better, for the kids."

 

"I know Draco. I've spoken to your dad since then. He's even forced his way through an apology. I'm not mad. I just wanted to let you know before we got too far into writing this one. This one is different. Everything changed in fourth year and I just- when we're having these writing meetings to story block I feel like it's not real anymore, like it never happened." He's reaching a hand out in front of him as if he's trying to hold something he can't grasp. His eyes are glazed over and Draco leans down to kiss his temple. He blinks a few times before looking up, green eyes meeting grey. His smile is soft and sad, but his eyes aren't as distant and Draco goes back to running fingers through his hair.

 

"You stopped taking your anti-depressant potions," asked Draco, but it's more of an observation, Harry knows that, but he makes a noncommital sound of agreement anyway. Draco's voice isn't judgmental when he asks: "Why?"

 

"After I had the girls the potions were making me feel worse so Mindhealer Laghari suggested I waited until my hormones were balanced again."

 

"Harry, love, the girls are almost 7 months old."

 

"I was hoping I could do better on my own."

 

"And are you?"

 

Harry didn't answer, but his silence was enough and Draco leaned down to kiss his temple again. If Harry wanted to work on it, that's what they'd do. 

 

**\--:--**

 

Scorpius sat outside with Hugo and Nick, watching as the rest of the kids ran around in the backyard of the Burrow chucking gnomes. He was trying not to bite his nails, but he was getting tired of bouncing his leg.

"Hey, Nick," Hugo says blushing, "I'm glad you got out..."

 

"Yeah, me too," said the dark haired boy. He scratched at the back of his neck and looked away from the two younger boys beside him. "So, uh...I've been thinking about- er- things, I guess, and if you guys will still want me then, I would like to be you guy's boyfriend too, but maybe like in a year or so?"

Scorpius was beaming up at him, but Hugo looked unsure. He agreed anyway, because Scorpius looked so happy and he was pretty sure he'd do anything to make the blond smile.

Hugo wasn't stupid.  His dad was an auror and his mum was the brightest witch in the ministry, so he had figured out how to know lip service when he heard it. He knew he was a little young and that was Nick's hold-up. He hadn't even been to Hogwarts yet. Of course he was too young. His dad didn't really like the fact he was dating yet anyway. Even he had started getting a bit uneasy about it when Scorpius hit yet another growth spurt. His mother told him not to worry too much about his height, because his dad was tall and so were his granddads and his dad reminded him that _all_ Weasley men were tall, except his Uncle Percy, but only because he was no fun.

Scorpius smiled and laughed with Nick through a couple of conversations and Hugo only watched sadly with a contemplative look in his eye. Scorp hugged him tightly and bent down to peck his nose before following Teddy and the Stevensons back through the floo to Malfoy Manor. It didn't take long for him to make up his mind. 

 

**\--:--**

 

Scorpius had thought he was having a good day. His sister's weren't screaming or babbling or accidentally magic-ing themselves all over the house, Teddy was with his Dad learning about the Black history from the elves, and his Pa was showing him how to conjure a patronus.

"Potter," said his dad, not looking up from where he was concentrating on knitting a hat for the elf chattering amicably in front of him and Teddy, "he doesn't need to know that."

 

"I learned in my third year, and I taught Teddy in his, Scorp's gonna learn too," he'd insisted not making any move to change his mind. And that had been that.

By all accounts, it _should_ have been a great day. But then there was an owl tapping on the glass behind him. He opened the window to let the bird in, before giving him a few treats. He was waiting for the bird to make it's delivery. He was sure it was there for his Dad from Grandmére or for his Pa from an admirer or something, what he didn't expect was for the bird to tug at his shirt whenever he tried to walk away before finally outstretching her huge wings and flying above him and dropping a letter into his hands. It was from Hugo. He smiled, because he thought it would be a love letter, could only be a love letter...but then he opened the envelope and it was the complete opposite.

Hu was breaking up with him. Didn't want to see him. Needed space and time to get over him, because they had been friends for so long, had been practically dating almost just as long and didn't think he could have done it in person. Didn't feel mature enough, he'd written, to do it in person.

Scorpius dropped the letter and ran into his room and cried, because he thought things had been going well. Had thought that they were working things out. Had thought Hu would always be there. His Pa came in after a while with a mug of hot chocolate and plate of biscuits and left it on his night stand.

As Harry walked out of the room again, he looked back at his son with a sad gleam in his eyes, because he knew how bad it hurt to lose your first love, but he also knew that first loves didn't always last. They were there to teach you how to share yourself with someone else, but they weren't there forever. He knew Scorp wouldn't want to hear that right now, and he closed the door behind him with a soft thump.


	13. - treize -

As it got closer to the school year, everyone had to start making preparations. Scorpius wasn't in the best of moods, but he remembered what Draco had said about taking that out on everyone else and he worked hard to keep his temper under control. Both Harry and Draco wanted to help, but they knew he had to deal with this by himself. Even Teddy was leaving him alone for fear of saying something he shouldn't.

"You're sure you can watch the girls?" Harry asked, while pulling his socks on and going in search of his trainers. Draco stared at him with a level gaze. "Oka~y. Well, I'm gonna go call Dudley."

 

"Is he going with you when you take the Stevensons to Diagon?" Draco said raising his wand and summoning Harry's shoes from downstairs near the door, handing them to him with a playful smirk. "Looking for these?"

 

"He is and I was," said Harry through a laugh, snatching the shoes away. "I'm going to show him around Diagon Alley, and take him to Gringott's to convert pounds to galleons so h-"

 

"I thought you had a lifetime ban from Gringott's?"

 

"So," he said dragging it out playfully, " _Neville_ is taking him to Gringott's. Now, are the boys coming with me or are they ordering from catalogue this year?"

 

Draco snorts.

 

"They're going because Nick and Natalie are going, but they both have to get fitted for their updated robes and hats. They can get their books from catalogue so you don't have to carry them all back."

Harry nodded as he stood, fully dressed and moved closer to where Draco was leaning against their wardrobe, still in pajamas, to give him a kiss before rushing out the door and rounding everyone up.

 

**\--:--**

"Neville, this is my cousin Dudley, and his daughter, Ava. Ava, Dudley, this is the herbology professor at Hogwarts, my friend, Neville Longbottom," he said, proud to introduce the dapper guy beside him as his friend. Neville had come such a long way from being that awkward kid with too big teeth and enough love to suffocate an erumpent. He still managed to love a ridiculous amount of people and extremely deadly plants, but he was more confident now.

 

"Nice to meet you," Neville said nodding at Dudley and smiling down at Ava. He reached a hand out for her to take or shake and she grabbed it excitedly. "Do you like flowers?"

 

"Yes! I used to help my mother in the garden all the time before my letter came," she said going from excited to confused to sad in the span of only a few seconds. Her father rubbed her head causing her to look up at him and take a deep breath. Harry wathed as Neville led them towards Gringotts and turned back around just in time to see Teddy trying to sneak off. Scorpius was sending soft smiles to Nick and Nat as they tried to talk to him and keep his mind off of his first heart break.

 

Harry cast a tempus and nodded to himself. They had at least another hour before they had to be anywhere else.

 

"Your appointment isn't until later. I set it so Ava could get fitted when you lot did. And I figured you guys probably wouldn't want to hang with me _all_ day," he said the last part staring at Teddy and the blue haired boy grinned playfully at him.

 

"And you'd be absolutely right!"

 

"Don't stray too far, yeah?"

 

"We'll meet you at Madam M's at half past?"

 

"And Teddy-"

 

"Watch out for Scorp," Teddy finished for him. "Of course."

 

"I can look after m-myself," growled the blonde in question. "You're not my real dad and I don't n-need a babysi-sitter. You could have just left me with Dad if-"

 

Teddy threw a hand over his brother's mouth and you could see the panic in the younger boy's eyes.

 

"Don't mind him. He's just a li'l grumpy."

 

Scorpius nodded quickly before peeling Teddy's hand from his face.

 

"Pa, I'm so s-sorry. I d-didn't mean it, I'm just- " He shook his head. "I shouldn't have l-lashed out. You d-don't deser-serve it."

 

"It's fine, Scorp," Harry said, but his voice was soft and sad. He wasn't Scorpius' father. He knew that, but he loved him like his own, and it was hard for him to hear otherwise. "I understand, okay? Just go find something to eat so you can take your potions."

The blonde was pouting as his friends and his brother dragged him away, towards the Leaky Cauldron for a full English, being that they hadn't had time for a proper breakfast before starting the day's errands.

Harry looked after them with a sad little smile before walking near one of the new shops that had opened after the war. There had been work on new magically enhanced muggle cell phones and he wanted to see how they worked. Before he could make it to the door however, he saw the flash of a camera bulb and turned around with his wand in his hand and a smile on his face.

It'd been ages since he'd been out and about this close to the start of term just because he wanted to avoid being seen. Try to help Dudley and Ava though, he had forgotten.

"Mr. Potter!" the lone photographer asked. "I just have a few questions. The wizardingworld misses you. So question number one, are you still happy with your job as professor of Defense at Hogwarts?"

Harry smiled and nodded, trying not to paint himself into a corner or a conversation.

 

"And word around town is that you have a pair of twin girls now, is that true as well?"

 

Again, Harry nodded with a content smile on his face.

 

"So, where are your girls right now, Mr. Potter?"

 

"They're home with their father. I'm taking the rest of my children school shopping. You know, getting books and robes for the new year."

 

"Of course, you are!" The man took another picture of Harry smiling and pitched his voice a little higher. "You hear that folks?Harry Potter, school shopping, just like the rest of us. You must be a great dad, Mr. Potter."

 

"I sure hope so," he responded a little thrown off by a pleasant interaction with the press. He meant to ask who hired him or what paper he wrote for, but he never got the chance.

 

"Nice speaking with you, sir!" the man said, then he was off like a shot to interview the woman standing outside of Ollivanders. If Harry remembered correctly, her name was Suzanne and she was Ollivander's apprentice. She laughed and smiled and blushed at the camera man bursting with questions and energy and when he finally walked away, she was red as a tomato. She had a long nose on a round pale face, with huge brown eyes. Her purple hair fell in ringlet curls around her face though she had attempted to pin most of it back into a messy bun with her wand poked through. She wore what looked like unicorn horn gauges that curved slightly at the end and round wire glasses with so many bends and scratches that she could put Harry's to shame.

Harry decided they could logically get Ava's wand before getting her fitted and almost as soon as the thought passed through his head, Neville was leading the two Dursleys back up the lane. Things were just working out for once. His stomach twisted at the thought that it meant something was up. Something would happen soon.

Harry placed a hand on his stomach and took a deep breath. Maybe he should eat something too. It wasn't quite 12 yet and he was a bit nauseous. He would have to just wait until the kids were getting fitted. _Family first,_ he thought, _then food_. His stomach lurched, but he stood firm with a smile on his face.


	14. - quatorze -

Once Neville and the Dursleys reached him, he thanked his friend and attempted to invite him for lunch but the other man declined, he had a date apparently and Harry whistled jokingly. He blushed but waved goodbye before turning off and heading towards the Leaky.

"Everything transfer alright?" Harry asked his cousin, as Ava _ooh_ -ed and _ah_ -ed at the window display in George's shop. Harry smiled down at her, but still waited for an answer.

 

"Yeah. And I- uh- I have the list of things she needs. Are you sure we can get all of this here?" the bigger man said nervously, scratching at the side of his nose.

 

"Course we can. I was thinking we could get her wand first then book it over to get her fitted for her robes before we miss that appointment." Harry started walking when Dudley didn't offer up any immediate disagreements.

 

"Er...where'd your kids go?" He asked omce they had walked into Ollivanders, waiting to be seen.

 

"Oh, probably over to the pub. Scorp has to eat before he takes his potions or they can upset his stomach."

 

"His potions?"

 

"Uh," said Harry, thinking of a way to simplify it, "He has attention problems and stuff, so he has prescription potions he has to take."

Dudley nodded as if he understood and Harry finally took in how absurd this was. How uncomfortable Dudley probably was and he didn't think before raising a hand and laying it on his shoulder. His cousin jumped and he smiled, only to contain his laughter.

"She'll be okay, Big D." He didn't know where the old nickname came from, but it was too late to take it back and even if he wanted to, it was Ava's turn to get a wand.

Suzanne paid no attention to the adults as she asked the young girl question after question before going down one of the long aisles and hopping onto a sliding ladder. She climbed up the the very top then pushed off into a flurry up and down the aisle, knocking more hair out of her bun so that there were more curls in her face than pinned behind her ears. She plucked box after box from the shelf until she had an armful of potential wands and she spun the ladder back towards the front of the shop before sliding down and marching back up to the counter and handing a short deep brown one to Ava.

Ava, for all her magical confusion, lifted the wand like it was a stick and waved it lightly, causing a bolt of lighting to strike the desk and a stack of books amd papers and tools in the corner to topple over, some of the feathers billowing into dust. She yelped as if the wand had bit her and tossed it back onto the counter.

"No," said Suzanne loftily, "that won't do. Try this one." She handed a slightly longer wand to the girl and watched as she set the trash bin on fire. A more curved wand sent boxes flying off the shelves. A thinner one singed a hole through the ceiling. There were two boxes left. Suzanne opened them both and grabbed the wand from the one closest to her, but before she could, Ava had already reached over and grabbed the long, curved, pale wand from the other.

The wand was about as long as her forearm, so around 8-inches, Harry figured, but it was bent in the middle as if it had been broken and grown back together at that angle. The handle was white and almost pearlescent, with runes etched into it. She waved it easily with a smile on her face, causing the store to light up as both her and the wand glowed. The smile on her face was almost just as breathtaking as the light surrounding her.

"Well," started Suzanne, placing the other end back into the box and explaining the ins and outs of wand care to a happily listening Ava.

Harry looked over to see Dudley, messily wiping tears off of his face.

"Are you okay?" he said concerned with his hand reaching up his sleeve to slide his wand out of its holster, always ready for a fight. Never quite over the threat of war. "What's wrong?"

 

"Nothing," Dudley said, shaking his head. "She just- she looks so beautiful. So _happy_."

 

"Of course she is," Harry said looking at her with a fond and understanding smile. "She's always felt different and left out, like something was missing, but now she doesn't have to. She knows where she belongs. She has a home, but she's met people who are just like her. People who can understand her..."

 

"Is that how you felt?" Dudley said barely above a whisper and Harry looked over at him with wide eyes, but it was enough of an answer. "We made you feel that way. Like you didn't belong anywhere." He looked down ashamed. "Like you were a waste of space."

 

"D, it's not a big-" the darker man started but he was cut off.

 

"It _is_ a big deal," he insisted. "Look at her face, Harry. She's _overjoyed_ to be here, and we treat her like she's the _world_. So I know you would've been..." he froze and took a steadying breath with his eyebrows furrowed. "How could you do that year after year? Come here and feel like that only to come back and have us treat you like you were nothing. How could you let us do that to you?"

 

"It was all I knew, really. You lot were the only family I had."

 

"And some family we were," he scoffed.

 

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Harry found himself saying. "It's all you ever knew too."

They stood in silence for a moment watching as Suzanne placed Ava's end back into the box and wrapped the box, just around the center, in spellotape before placing it in a bag along with a care guide.

"For the record," said Dudley as he walked up to pay for the wand and supplies, "you aren't a waste of space."

 

"So I've been told," Harry said with a small smile that grew bigger when Ava rushed over to him swinging her bag excitedly.

They left the shop not much later and just in time to meet the rest of the kids in front of Madam Malkin's.

"Can we go to Uncle George's after this?" Teddy asked once they were inside all pinned up and surrounded by floating fabric and tape measures. He had started calling all the Weasleys some form of Aunt or Uncle to keep himself from thinking of Victoire that way again. To see her as family only. For Scorpius, however, it was a bit too soon for that. He was still heartbroken about Hugo and simply calling Ron his Uncle wasn't going to stop that, even if he and Hermione were the twins godparents.

 

"Sure," Harry agreed with a shrug and Scorpius tensed. It was the same way Draco did when something he didn't want to talk about was close to being the topic of discussion. His posture was still perfect in the way Malfoys always were, but his jaw was clenched, his hands were elegantly picking at his sleeve cuffs and he was not making any eye contact with anyone.

 

"Brilliant!" Teddy cheered before Madam Malkin herself sent a rolled up newspaper flying to pop him on the back of his head.

 

"Stop moving, biscuit! Else, your measurements'll be off," called the old witch from the back.

 

"Yes, ma'am," Teddy sighed, holding in the urge to rub the back of his head.

 

"Be sure to take Ava with you, Ted, and look out for her. Her dad and I'll go get the rest of her first year supplies."

 

"Of course," he agreed in a duh tone of voice. "I wouldn't let anything happen to her."

 

"Is there anything you lot need while we're in town?" Harry was smiling, but he was watching Scorpius, hoping the boy would take the hint.

They all shook their head, but Nick who had been watching Scorpius all day, looked over to see the concerned look on Harry's face and see that this was his way of giving the blond boy an out. He cleared his throat.

"Actually, Scorp and I were talking about going to Flourish and Blotts for some last minute summer reading, if that's all right."

Harry noticed the moment when Scorpius realized what they were doing and relaxed, sending a soft smile his way and he grinned at both boys.

"I don't see why not," Harry said. It took him longer to realize that no matter what happened, this was his family, the Stevensons and Dursleys included, and they'd be there for each other. It was a soft feeling that went surging from his core through his body to his heart and back. It was like pure magic and he beamed.


	15. - quinze -

Ava Primrose Dursley was sitting on a stool overlooking the entire student body of Hogwarts and she was memorably terrified for the first time in her life. Her Uncles sat at the head table behind her and she was trying her best not to fidget so much. Professor Longbottom smiled at her and she relaxed a little bit. He promised her everything would be fine, that the hat wasn't perfect, but it knew what you needed most. Even her Uncle Harry had told her the hat would take her opinion into account, she just didn't know much about the houses to really prefer one over the other. She was so nervous she had ignored the house introductions. All she knew was that Scorpius was in the blue house and Teddy was in the yellow one. Uncle Harry and Uncle Draco had been in the red and green houses respectively.

The woman in front of her, Headmistress McGonagall, she remembered, lifted the hat above her head and she squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation.

"It'll be alright, dear," the woman said softly, before finally letting the large floppy hat fall onto her head.

 

" _Hmmmm_..." started a deep raspy voice, booming inside her head, " _a Squib-born, eh? I see...you have a strong will, but are you sure it's all your own?_ "

 

"Course, s'mine," she muttered with an angry pout. "Who's else would it be?" There was another rumbling between her ears, like the hat was laughing at her.

 

" _You're not very trusting, but once you are..._ " the hat tutted, " _You're extremely loyal, and you expect the same from others. You're resilient and your father has taught you ambition. A tough decision...A very tough decision_."

The crowd of students were still looking at her, but by now she had decided that no one else could hear whatever the bloody hat was saying. Some people at the red and yellow table looked at her in awe. She hadn't realized how long the hat had just sat there making small humming noises until she started fidgeting on the seat again. Uncle Harry looked at her with a fond smile, as if he knew what she was going through. The stress and confusion and cacophony of other emotions.

Ava had started wondering how long it would take to pull at the loose string from the hat until she completely unraveled it to nothing. Would the magic still work if it were a scarf or a jumper or a pair of mittens or maybe even sorting socks! She was surprised when the hat finally gave what she could only describe as a chuckle and spoke to the rest of hall, her included.

 

"It'll have to be.... _ **HUFFLEPUFF**_!"

 

The headmistress smiled down at her and nodded towards the yellow table near the side of the room. She attempted to squeeze into an open seat at the end of the row and ignore everyone else who were still bubbling with happy energy. Teddy was next to her in moments, throwing a warm arm around her shoulders and she blushed from embarrassment.

"Congrats, cuz! Welcome to the best house at Hogwarts. Pretty cool that you stalled, doesn't really happen all that often, ya know?"

She looked at him more confused than before.

 

"Stalled?" she asked.

 

"Yeah," he said as the headmistress called another name and the hat sent that kid off to the red table, Gryffindor, she reminded herself. "Like the hat couldn't decide where to put you so it took'im a bit to decide. It means you would have a lot of potential wherever you ended up."

 

"How long was I up there?" she said surprised.

 

"Oh, only a coupl'a minutes, but most stalls end up in Gryffindor or Slytherin, so the fact you ended up here is pretty wicked."

The headmistress calls another name. And another. And another. And after a few moments, Ava finally smiles.

"Congratulations," says Teddy again from beside her and she thanks him honestly.

As she looked down the table at her new housemates, she decided that maybe Hufflepuff wasn't so bad, she looked at the school crest, even if their mascot was a _badger_. She laughed proudly.

 

**\--:--**

Draco is sitting on the bed with his knees tucked into his chest, trying to force air into his lungs. He stops only to find his teeth together when the pain escalates for the fifth time. He is groaning into his pillow when Harry walks in, catches sight of him, and rushes over to his side.

"Draco! What happened? Are you alright?"

 

"Fuck off, Potter, I'm fine. Just a little stomach pain. It's just something I ate. You know how badly I react to shellfish and there was a crayfish dip for the-"

Harry had stopped listening and instead he was moving around the room and the bed, trying to make sure Draco was comfortable. He climbed up behind him to hold him steady. The blond, for all its worth, really was preening under the attention, even if he was still whining from the pain.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Harry asked, still worried. Draco nodded and after a few minutes, the feeling passed and he relaxed more into his husband's grip.

 

"Did you tell Teddy to do that?" Draco said after they both just laid together for a bit.

 

"Do what?" asked Harry through a yawn.

 

"Talk to Ava. She looked uncomfortable and he walked over and just sat with her."

 

"I didn't have to. He's a nice kid. He doesn't like to see people down." Harry tried to hold in his laughter but Draco felt it anyway and elbowed him in the side.

 

"I'm just- I don't think I would have done that."

 

"You _weren't_ a nice kid," Harry said chuckling, earning himself another elbow in the side.

 

"I mean, even if it were Blaise or Pansy, you imbecile. We dealt with stuff on our own. We always have. Even the stuff now with Blaise wanting a family, we don't talk about it. He just leaves when he feels uncomfortable..."

 

"You don't think you should talk to him about it?" Harry starts running a hand through his husband's soft hair.

 

"No, if he wanted to talk he would."

 

"Maybe he doesn't feel like you lot want to talk about it either."

 

"That's because we _don't_. You know we're no good with showing emotions...it'd be hard to listen to that. To talk about it." Draco looked ashamed even though they both knew it was the truth and Harry kissed him on the cheek.

 

"Then tell Blaise that I'm here, whenever he wants to talk to someone who isn't an emotionally stunted Slytherin."

He was rewarded with another elbow to the side, but Draco turned over and kissed him softly on the lips anyway. In a few moments they were asleep in each others arms.


	16. - seize -

"We're professors, Harry!" Draco said barely a month into the new term after both he and Harry had spent the first 10 minutes of their morning puking up their guts. It was a Saturday, but they had both woke up hot and nauseous. "This is the first job I've had in ages and I doubt McGonagall is going to keep letting us off because we keep having kids."

 

"Draco don't be so-"

 

"Call me dramatic, Potter." He stops pacing to face Harry angrily. "I dare you."

 

"I wasn't- I'm just saying, maybe you're taking this a bit too far. You're probably not pregnant, so there's no reason to be so stressed out about it."

 

"I've been having cramps for more than two weeks now. Either I'm pregnant or I'm having my first menstrual cycle and we both know one is a bit more likely than the other!"

 

"I've been having cramps too, Draco. It doesn't mean-"

 

"Then we should both get a pregnancy test done," the blonde said resolutely with crossed arms and Harry sputtered.

 

"We're not pregnant. You're probably just nervous, it's a new school year, you always get antsy when you can't see the boys all the time."

 

"And what's your excuse?" When Harry doesn't respond he keeps going. "And what do we do if I _am_ ," Draco says, hands on his stomach, pacing back and forth again, across the room. "If _we_ are?"

 

"Celebrate?" Harry says confused.

 

"I'm being serious, Harry."

 

"So am I. We'll get through this, whatever _this_ is and we'll be fine. If we are pregnant, and that's a huge if, then we do what we always do, teach and take care of our kids."

 

"How're you so bloody calm about this?"

 

"We literally just had twins almost a year ago."

 

"Touché."

 

"It's probably a vitamin deficiency or something anyway, so there's no need to get so worked up about it. They'll prescribe us a few supplement potions and send us on our way."

 

"They better. We can't afford any more children right now," Draco said and Harry stared at him with a leveled glare.

 

"Draco we could afford ten more children if we wanted."

 

"In terms of money, of course we could. But what we can't afford, is to make _time_ for more children right now. We work full time and we already have a house full-"

 

"So," Harry asked growing tense and backing away from where he had been trying to get through to his husband. "If you are pregnant, what're you going to do, huh? Terminate it?"

 

"No!" Draco responded, turning around to face the raven-haired man, surprised, "I'd never! I just- Harry I don't know what I'd do, but I know I don't want our child growing up thinking we don't care because we never have enough time for them."

 

"That would never happen. Draco, I know how you're feeling. I used to feel that way all the time, that's why Teddy was with Andromeda for so long, I didn't think I would be good at raising a kid, let alone having a family." He stops talking to run a hand through his hair and when he pulls it down looking lost, Draco grabs ahold of it and kisses his knuckles softly. "You know what I've realized since then," asked Harry through a whisper, green eyes locked on those shimmery mercury ones.

 

"How right you were?" he asked, partially joking, partially serious, and completely terrified.

 

"That we're great parents. I never had any real shining examples, but I know we love them unconditionally and we try our damnedest to be there for them and to a kid, that's practically all that matters." Harry  is holding Draco's head in his hands, with his palms on his cheeks and the blond leans into the grip softly as Harry swipes the tears from his face with his thumbs. Draco chuckles then sends Harry a crooked little smirk before leaning in and kissing him.

 

"How did I ever manage to deserve you?"

 

"You know," said the ravenette playfully, "I've been asking myself the same thing."

 

**\--:--**

 

"Scorpius Malfoy," boomed a voice from the other end of the hall and he was almost positive that she didn't need a sonorous charm. He stopped in his tracks and turned around unimpressed.

 

"Olivia," he greeted, bored. He had taken his potions, but on days like today (like the last few days, really) they didn't help his depressive episodes. They just made him numb. If she noticed something was up, she didn't let on. Breakfast that morning hadn't really tasted like much as far as he knew, but then again he had spent all of breakfast ignoring Nick and Nat, opting instead to stare at Hugo over at the Gryffindor table, smiling and laughing with other students. He left early to take his potions and had felt off ever since.

 

"You want to tell me why I didn't get a single letter from you all summer? I sent you owls, and you never even responded," she said fuming when she finally made it to him, but Scorpius only shrugged."You've been ignoring me like all term."

 

"Term just started."

 

"And yet, here we are."

 

"S'complicated." Another shrug. He wasn't looking in her eyes, but his Malfoy stance was still all fine lines and angles and grace. She growled in her throat.

 

"Then uncomplicate it."

 

"I was busy." He shrugged again and turned to walk away, but she grabbed his wrist, her sharp purple nails digging into his arm. Uncomfortable, but not painful.

 

"Malfoy, what is going on with you?"

 

"Have you ever th-thought that maybe it's none of your business?" He said breaking free and walking away. His tone wasn't particularly harsh or rushed, so he could keep his stuttering to a minimum and Olivia decided that that's what hurt the most. That he was handling her with such a clinical precision. Such a distanced perspective. Like she was no one.

 

"You know what?" She yelled after him. "Fuck you, Scorpius Malfoy. You're just a pathetic freak anyway!" She wanted him to get angry or get upset or give her that look like he knew she was just kidding because that's how Slytherins were.

 

She wanted him to scream at her or cry until she apologized or laugh or do _anything_ that he normally would have done. What she didn't want...what she never would have expected was for him to turn around, posture perfect, eyes distant, and say: _"I know."_

 


	17. - dix-sept -

Olivia Taylor stood frozen in the corridor, watching as Scorpius walked away from her with such an unwarranted purpose that it hurt. When she lost sight of him she ran to the only place she knew and banged on the door until Professor Potter came to the door with his usual messy hair looking even messier, wearing only a pair of plaid trousers and trying to force his torso into a t-shirt.

"Sorry to bother you this morning, Professor, but is Professor Malfoy here?"

 

"Uh," he said looking at her then back into the room, "yeah?"

 

"Can I speak to him?"

 

"Sure?" he agreed, though it came out more like a question.

Harry stepped back into the room and invited her in. Draco was sitting in an armchair near the window, having tea and looking over exams that needed grading. He was wearing a pair of fitted trousers with a short sleeve button up as if he had a meeting no one knew about but him.

"G'morning, Sir..." she didn't stutter, but she felt like she was tripping over the few words she had managed to mutter anyway. He looked up at her and she blurted out what she was going to say. "I just spoke to Scorpius and...I don't know. He doesn't seem like himself. I know he's been upset or whatever because his boyfriend broke up with him, but he's been like a zombie. And when I spoke to him just now..."

 

"Did he seem like he was going to hurt himself?"Draco said standing up, panicked, but still just as graceful and terrifying as his son.

 

"N-not really," she said getting nervous now. Were there signs she should have been looking for? She felt like a terrible friend. "But he didn't seem like he cared either way. I said something to him that I probably shouldn't have to- uh- to get a reaction, but he didn't get mad or anything...he just agreed with me."

 

"Well what did you say to him?" Harry asked, pulling on a pair of trainers and running a hand through his hair. She wouldn't look at them so he asked again.

 

"I called him a freak," she said crossing her arms and looking away. "He was just so numb, you know? I wanted him to get mad at me or something. I just wanted him to snap out of it...but he didn't. He just said he already knew that."

 

"Where was he headed," Malfoy said sliding on his own shoes much more gracefully then Harry could have managed.

 

"I don't know, he was stomping down the corridor. He never turned around, but it was like he was so sure of where he was going. Scorp's never sure of anything but his name, half the time."

 

"Where does Scorp like to go to be alone in the castle?" Harry asked, but he was aiming his question towards Draco, not Olivia.

 

"The library is always crowded so he wouldn't be there."

 

"The passage in the 5th floor corridor?"

 

"He got trapped in there last week trying to prank Teddy."

 

"Of course he did," Harry said with a fond sigh. "Then..." His eyes widened as they both think of something they probably should have realized before.

 

"The astronomy tower. _Fucking_ _hell_!"

 

"Malfoy, language." But they were both  rushing towards the door.

 

"She's Millie's daughter and a Slytherin, besides."

 

"But you're a professor."

 

"Fine. Seven hells. Now, can we go stop Scorpius from being a complete fucking idiot."

 

Harry sighed, but didn't disagree and they both rushed off to find their son.

 

**\--:--**

 

Scorpius was sitting in the astronomy tower. He was laying back, with his feet over the edge, staring up at the ceiling. It was way too early for him to really see any stars, but it was quiet here. He could think! He sat up and leaned his head against the pillar beside him and looked out across the school grounds. Tears were streaming down his face before he realized.

Olivia was mad at him. Hugo was ignoring him. Nat was trying her best, but being around Nick was awkward. Even hanging out with Teddy had been tough this week. Of course _his_ life was shit. He _was_ a **freak**. He didn't _**deserve**_ to have a good life. 

He leaned forward a bit and stared down at the drop from the tower to the ground. Would he survive that? He thought of how high he was from the ground. He'd probably die before impact. He sat back again and pulled his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around his legs as best he could. He sat his chin on his knees and continued staring out across the field towards the forbidden forest, where a huge white tomb held a previous headmaster. A man he had never met, but always heard about.

Harry stood at the stairway, watching a boy that was his but not his and nudged Draco forward before taking Olivia back downstairs and thanking her for alerting them.

"Dumbledore was a liar," said the boy's Father, scaring him a little as he eased down beside him, tossing his impossibly long legs over the ledge. "He was manipulative and selfish and a deeply emotional mess, but he was a great headmaster; a great man. He was kind when it mattered and he did, for the most part, what he thought was right." He wrapped an arm around Scorpius' shoulders. "That doesn't mean he didn't have hardship or heartbreak, because he did. We all do. I held him at wand point and he wasn't scared of me. He trusted me. He believed in me when I don't think anyone else did. I don't want you to ever think we don't care about or believe in you. That we aren't here for you, because we are. We always will be."

 

"I'm glad you're here, Dad," said the boy leaning into his father's embrace.

 

"I'm glad you're okay."

 

"I don't feel okay."

 

"But you will be." Draco smiled at his son before kissing his forehead softly and ruffling his hair.

 

"Will I ever not have to deal with this? What if I just wake up one day and like spell it away? _Anti_ - _depression_ - _mortem_ or something?"

His dad ran a thumb over his cheek with a sad smile as he shook his head.

"We all have stuff we have to deal with, Hyperion. This is just your stuff. I'm just sorry you have to deal with it so young. You shouldn't have to deal with all of this."

 

"You're a great dad," the younger blond says wrapping Draco in a hug. The blond was shocked at the seemingly random admission and if a tear or two fell, no one else would know.

 

"It's because you're such a great kid."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just thought i should let y'all know something that people seem to forget or misunderstand.
> 
> fact: families can be toxic. dont think that you have to put up with them or "friends" who treat you in ways that make you uncomfortable or constantly upset/angry/on edge just because they're blood or because they've been around you all your life. you deserve better than that, dont let them make you think otherwise.
> 
> much love xoxo


	18. - dix-huit -

"Potter," Draco practically growled as he stormed into Harry's office carrying a thick packet of official looking parchment. The wax seal had already been broken when Harry began unfurling the documents.

 

"Well hello to you too, love," Harry said off-handedly before he finally gets around to reading the bundle of papers. He drops them to the desk with a grin before standing and running to give the blond man a hug. "Draco, that's great!"

 

"We already- We do have jobs, you realize," Draco said, bringing up his initial argument again, pushing away so that Harry was holding him at arms length.

 

"So you _aren't_ happy about this?"

 

"Of course I am, but...I just-" Draco drew in a deep breath. "Harry, I'm not as strong as you are, alright? I can't keep going to work like nothing's changed. I'm pregnant for Merlin's sake. This is a big deal."

 

"Of course it is!" Harry said still excited and Draco looked at him with his usual amount of skepticism.

 

"And what about you then?" Draco insists with crossed arms. "What did your tests say?"

 

"Uh-" he started, his cheeks darkening. "I _may_ have rescheduled my appointment..."

 

"Meaning?" asked the blond with narrowed eyes, trying not to smack his husband upside the head with his pregnancy test results.

 

" _Meaning_ ," Harry repeated with feeling, "my results won't be in for another few days."

 

"I can't look at you right now," Draco said after a beat of silence. He turned so that Harry was facing his back and he spoke at him. "You could have _told_ me. For Merlin's sake, that's what relationships are about, remember? Trust. Communication. And all that other Hufflepuff rubbish."

 

"Draco-"

 

"No. You don't just not get a check up when something is going on with you! Especially not without consulting me."

 

"Draco!" Harry said getting just as angry as his husband was. "You don't own me, okay? I decide what I get to do with _my_ body. I went practically my whole life being told what to do, barely in control of my own body and now you think I have to answer to _you_?" Harry rolled his eyes and scoffed, storming back over to his desk.

 

"I'm not trying to- Harry, I care about you. So if something is going on with you and you don't get it checked out, that's not just your business anymore. It's mine too. And Teddy's. And Scorp's. And if the twins understood, them too. We're your family. I just don't want anything bad to happen to you."

His anger disappeared as quickly as it had started and the way he looked at Draco told the older man so.

"I'm going to be fine, Draco. We both are. I promise."

 

**\--:--**

 

Draco and Harry sat down with Teddy and Scorp and smiled softly. They were both glowing. They began nudging each other to urge them on to speaking. Eventually Teddy cleared his throat and Scorpius spoke up with a confused smile of his own.

"What's up, Dads?"

 

"Well," started Draco looking over at Harry who snorted then spoke excitedly.

 

"Your father's pregnant!"

 

"Holy Merlin!" Teddy said. "Congrats! Four siblings later, and I used to think it would just be me and Pops forever."

 

"H-how long until you know w-whether it's a girl or b-boy, or if it's twins again?"

 

"A month or so at least, but it's highly unlikely that it'd be twins. Since your Papa was able to have twins then I won't be able to carry them," Draco explained calmly, like he always did when Scorpius asked one of those questions. Questions that weren't rude, but could strike a cord with more sensitive types. Questions that wondered on the wellbeing of dead relatives or forgotten friends.

Harry grabbed his husband's hand and kissed his knuckles softly. How could he ever think he couldn't do this again. Draco was a great dad, patient and kind, but stern and respectable in ways Harry knew didn't come from the blond's own father.

"So," said the ravenette clearly, "if it looks like your father needs help holding something or moving something in class, you help him, but until he starts showing, this stays between us. Understood?"

 

"Not l-like I'd even have anyone to t-t-tell anyway..." Scorpius said pouting and Draco tried to suppress an eye roll.

 

"Scorp, you're still only 12. You're barely a teenager. I know it feels like the pain will tear you apart, but it won't okay. You have to move past it, even if you never let it go."

 

"You liked Dad back in school, didn't you?" the young blonde said carefully.

 

"I did," Draco responded, looking away from Harry even though he had already known that much.

 

"So m-maybe, Hu was g-gonna b-b-be my husband." Scorpius was standing now, and Teddy reached a hand out to place on his shoulder, but the boy snatched away.

 

"Someone's off their potions," the blue haired boy said exaggerated, sitting back in his seat with his arms crossed. But he only looked put out for a second.

 

"Your dad and I would have never gotten together in school or directly afterwards. For multiple reasons," Draco explained primly.

 

"One of which," Harry added, "is because your father was more than a bit of a prat." Teddy snorted out a laugh even while Scorpius continued to whine.

 

"But-" he tried to argue, but this time, Teddy managed to force him back into his seat. When the younger boy looked at him, he shook his head and shrugged.

 

"Not what we're here for, Scor. We know you're having a tough time, but we're here for Dads," Teddy said understanding yet excited. "You can come back with me to the Hufflepuff dorms and we can talk there, okay?"

 

"You're right..."

 

"Usually."

 

"Thanks, Ted." Scorpius' smile didn't reach his eyes. It would take some before it did again. As odd as it seemed to the rest of them, because he was just _so_ young, Hugo was his first love. That love never dies, but when it's gone it leaves an emptiness that can't be filled without talking or friendship or...closure.


	19. - dix-neuf -

"One of these days, you both are going to come in for a prenatal check up earlier than the last minute," says Healer Harper with her hands on her hips and a folder full of papers in her hand. She flipped it open and started scanning the pages before continuing. "Draco, I see that you are currently 14 weeks and due for an ultrasound. If all goes well, I should be able to tell you the sex of the baby today."

 

"Already?" asked Harry surprised, as he looked over to Draco sitting on the examination table, nervous, but not tense.

 

"He's almost 4 months along, so with hopes for proper development, yes."

Harry was too stunned to speak, and he laid a hand across his own stomach in awe. What if he really was pregnant? It wouldn't be long now before it was time to give birth again. It was like the months flew by some days.

"Now, Draco, if you would just lay back and relax. We could get started on the visualizing spells."

With a deep breath, the blond man did as he was asked. Healer Harper raised her wand then and with a series of movements that Harry remembered from his own pregnancy check-ups, she held up a floating yet blurry 3D image of Draco's womb and within it, a small bundle of newly forming arms and legs. After a few seconds there was the loud pounding of a heartbeat that surrounded them in the room. She turned the image this way and that until she finally finished checking vitals.

 

"Congratulations, Mr. and Mr. Potter. It's a boy."

 

" _A_ _boy_ ," Draco said softly in reverence, looking up at Harry with tears in his eyes. Harry nodded before kissing his husband on the forehead softly.

 

**\--:--**

 

"What should we name him?" Harry asked later, as he stared into the canopy above their bed. They were cuddling together in bed after a trip to St. Mungo's and his arm was wrapped lovingly around his husband's small bump.

 

"Stick with what works, obviously," Draco said flippantly, his hands resting over Harry's on his stomach. "Family history dictates we use stars or constellations."

 

"What options are even left?" Harry said through a laugh.

 

"I like Cassiopeia," said the blond, dreamily.

 

"I always thought that was a girl's name..."

 

"Eltanin?"

 

"I don't think I could say that with a straight face if I tried," the ravenette said through a snort.

 

"You're an idiot, I'm not surprised."

 

"An idiot you agreed to marry." Harry laid his head between Draco's shoulder and jaw, kissing the skin there and grinning crookedly.

 

"Oh, what about Cepheus?" Draco said melting further into Harry's embrace.

 

"Aw, we'd have a little Ceph'us and Scorp'us," he said with a grin.

 

"You'd be right if his name wasn't _Scorp_ - _i_ - _us_ ," he said elongating the ee sound in the boy's name.

 

"Okay, okay. What about a middle name?"

 

"Parker. Cepheus Parker Malfoy-Potter."

 

"Really?"

 

"Why, what's wrong with it?"

 

"Nothing, it just-" he shrugged, "seems a bit muggle for you..."

 

"I like it."

 

"Obviously."

 

Draco turned over until he was facing Harry, then took the opportunity to narrow his eyes at him.

"What about you, then. If you're carrying another child, which you are, what shall we name it?"

 

"Draco, we've been over this, I'm not pregnant."

 

"Then why put off the test? Whether you're pregnant or not, you're only delaying the inevitable."

 

"I just- if I don't know, I can act like it's not happening. Don't get me wrong, I loved carrying the girls; I was proud to do that, but it just didn't feel like my body anymore. So to go right back into being pregnant again..." Harry shook his head then changed tactics. "Not even you were excited when you first realized you could pregnant."

 

"It's not that I wasn't excited," Draco said stern, but quiet. "I was just terrified. I still am. What if I can't carry him full term? What if something happens to him? What if..." His voice wavered as he got even quieter. "You're stronger than me, Harry. You always have been, and what if I'm not strong enough for this."

 

"If you weren't strong enough it wouldn't have happened," Harry tried to reason with him.

 

"That's not true!" he argued forcefully."The world could just be playing some kind of horrid trick on me and you know what? I deserve it."

 

"No, love, you don't deserve that. No one does."

Draco didn't respond, but he swallowed down a sob before attempting to talk again. His voice was thick and pitiful as he begged forgiveness for things long since forgiven. His obvious hysteria sent Harry into something akin to a crying fit as well and he stopped trying to talk once he realized what that would mean.

He cringed further into the bed and blankets when a ministry appointed owl started pecking at the window.

"You know it's for you. I wouldn't be able to get the letter off of that wretched bird even if I wanted to," Draco said urging him from the bed and wipong stray tears from his face.

 

"I hate it when you're right."

 

"I'm always right," Draco said confused and Harry snorted back a laugh before pulling himself from the bed and opening the window just enough for the owl to waddle it's way in and perch on the inner sill of the window. He dug around in the desk drawer closest to the window before finally finding the owl treats he was looking for and giving one to the ball of feathers waiting for him to detach the letter. He did as much as he could to delay the inevitable. He ruffled the birds soft feathers, and fed her treats, but eventually she dropped the letter, nipped his fingers and waddled back out the window before flying away, across Hogwarts grounds.

Harry unrolled the scroll as though it were a death sentence, tense and uneasy. He read the letter with bated breath, and released an almost sob before falling backwards into the bed, defeated.

 

~~~

 _Mr_. _Harry_ _J_. _Malfoy_ - _Potter_ ,

 

_This letter is to inform you that your pregnancy test results have come in. However, due to our Privacy and Care Policy, we can not disclose this information within this letter. Your results have been released to your primary off-site Healer,_ Madam P. Pomfrey _of_ Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry _. Please let us know of anything else we can do to assist. If something is wrong please see your primary Healer, or come to St. Mungos immediately. Thank You._

_Healer Clayton Aceto_

_Mediwizard Master Class_

_St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries_

_Floor 8 Pregnancy and Prenatal Care_

~~~

 

"I'm going to see Pomfrey," said Harry resolutely, easing off the bed again.

 

"Good luck," Draco murmured before rolling over onto his side for a nap. Why did no one tell him how tired he was going to be all the time? How did Harry ever do it? How could he do it? He furrowed deeper into the blankets.

 


	20. - vingt -

"Mr. Potter," Madam Pomfrey said, looking down at Harry with a serious face and crossed arms. "Have you been feeling the same as you did when you were pregnant before?"

 

"Yes," he said quietly looking down at the positive pregnancy test results she had handed him.

 

"So why wait to get the tests done?" she asked disappointed.

 

"I didn't think I was ready for another kid...I just got my body back, Poppy."

She placed an understanding hand on his shoulder and forced him to look her in the eyes.

"As understandable as that is, that doesn't change the truth. You know that preparations have to be made and you have to go back on prenatal potions immediately."

Harry nodded solemnly. He was excited but defeated. It would happen all over again? The mood swings and the stress and the tiredness and- he ran a hand across cramping stomach, more stretch marks. Pomfrey called his name again, forcing him to drag his gaze back up to her.

"And if you wish to _stop_ having kids," she said pointedly with raised eyebrows, "I would suggest you _start_ to use protection, Mr. Potter." His face heated up as she walked away.

Harry sat on the examination table for a few moments after she walked away trying to compose himself. Somewhere between finding out he was pregnant again and watching her walk away, he had started crying. He wiped his face with his sleeve and before she could hear him and return with tissues of something even more mortifying, like a box of muggle condoms, he carefully eased off the table and out of the Hospital Wing.

On the way back to Draco, he ran what he felt to be about a million scenarios for how to tell him he was right with starting a row, but when he actually got back to the room though, Draco was sleeping and he didn't have to say a word. He laid the results on the desk beneath the window next to Draco's and kicked off his trainers and trousers before crawling into bed behind his husband. He plucked his glasses from his face and put them on the nightstand before wrapping his arms around Draco, placing his hands on his husband's stomach and kissing his shoulder blade.

"Congratulations, love. We're pregnant." 

 

**\--:--**

 

"Yo! Scorpius," called a redhead from the end of the hall, before running to catch up with the tall blond. His face was flushed from the chill outside and he had a scarf tied loosely around his neck

 

"Hey, Hu," Scorpius responded, looking away from the adorable red and freckled face walking beside him.

 

"Whatcha up to?"

 

"Walking."

 

"Oh, where ya headed?"

 

"Library."

 

"Sunday study sesh with Ro?" he asked next but Scorpius only shrugged. " _O_ ~ _kay_. Well...mind if I tag along?"

 

"I would much rather you d-didn't," said Scorpius finally stopping and turning to face the younger boy headon. He had actually hit a growth spurt over the summer that sent him standing just below Scorpius' chin, though his boots made him slightly taller.

 

"Are you mad at me?" Hugo asked quietly, not sounding quite as confident as the 11 year old usually tried to.

 

"You know I can't stay mad at you, Hu," said Scorpius shaking his head. "I just need some time before you push yourself into my life and leave again."

 

"That's kinda harsh," said Hugo annoyed."I told you we could be friends. I _want_ to be friends with you, Scorp. I like being around you, but I-"

 

"I know, you don't want t-t-to date anymore. We're 't- _too_ _young_ ' to b-be s-ser-serious." Scorpius shrugged again before starting to walk away from his old friend. "Whatever. It's f-fine. You've al-always been there, and then you j-j-just weren't. Le'me have t-time to adjust."

 Hugo turned and angrily began marching off in the opposite direction, scuffing his combat boots against the floors and mumbling to himself.

"He's had all bloody summer to adjust. Scorp's so stupid. He knows I miss him too. He has to. He just isn't being fair."

 Scorpius looked behind him to be sure that the younger boy had finally made it around the corner completely out of sight, before collapsing against the wall and sliding down, placing his forehead against his knees. He wanted to scream or cry or run after Hugo, but he wouldn't know what to say anymore than he did when the boy was right in front of him.

Before they were boyfriends, they were best friends and it hurt to lose that more than anything. Even before they could spell each other's name, even when their families were years away from speaking it was like they knew they would meet again. They had drawn pictures and written scribbled letters and done anything to remember each other. Scorpius smiles as the tears fall when he remembered Hugo being nervous to show him into his room where there was a box of crayon drawings and letters written in barely legible handwriting about a friend he'd had and lost. One he only remembered faintly. A friend he had thought was imaginary until the Malfoy-Potter wedding.

 Scorpius looked up when there was a warm presence beside him. Teddy smiled before wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

"H-how'd you f-f-find me?" sniffled Scorpius, the sound muffled by his legs.

 

"You never made it to the library and my big brother senses started goin' barmy," Teddy said playfully pulling his brother in for a tighter hug. "So what's up? Panic attack?"

 

"Hugo," Scorpius said by way of explanation instead and the older boy nodded knowingly.

 

"Wanna hide out in Pop's office until he comes to grade papers?" Teddy asked, but the still crying blond shook his head.

 

"I don't want to f-face him or Dad."

 

"Hmm. That's fair. So what _do_ you want to do?"

 

"What do _you_ do when you're upset?" the boy said quietly, curling into himself even more, if it were possible.

 

"I usually go flying for a bit, focus on the things going on out there instead of in here," Teddy said, then tapped a finger to his brother's temple. "Y'know, clear my head."

 

"Show me?" Scorpius asked, looking up, his voice cracking and along with it Teddy's heart.

 

"Sure, Scorp. C'mon," he said as he stood and helped the saddened boy off the floor.


	21. - vingt et un -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a reminder that this isn't a pregnancy centered fic so like im gonna be bouncing around and speeding through those parts. kay? kay.

It was a week before Halloween and Scorpius Malfoy-Potter was trying to calm himself down **without** flying. After taking Teddy's advice and trying it out, the feeling of being in the air had become almost intoxicating, but it was getting colder outside and he hated flying with gloves on.

The boy sat in his room, trying to read through a few books he grabbed from the library on potion reconstruction, mostly because it sounded interesting, but he couldn't focus. Manish had been throwing paper balls at the trash can for almost an hour now and the sound still hadn't faded into background noise yet. Their other dorm mates were down in the common room but they didn't want to be around them. After a while, Manish started talking almost as aimlessly as he was throwing the paper. Scorpius closed the book with a thump and finally allowed his flying addiction to drag him from the bed.

"C'mon, Manny, I don't like flying alone," he said as he tugged his Weasley jumper from last christmas over his long sleeved button up.

 

"I don't like flying at all," countered Manish, but he pushed himself off of his bed anyway before sliding on his shoes and following Scorpius. "Why don't you just ask your brother, anyway?"

The blond shrugged, but he was pretty sure Teddy was already there. They had never met their Pa's parents; he had barely even met them, but Halloween was always difficult. The thoughts were more present which made his Pa think about how things could have been different, then that made Teddy think the same thing and then his Pa felt guilty... Scorpius shook his head to clear those types of thoughts but kept walking, smiling and laughing when Manish made a joke. They made it to the quidditch pitch quicker than he thought was possible. He looked up just in time to see his brother racing towards them with a flushed face and a huge grin.

"Hey Scorp, hey Manny. Here to fly?"

 

"Never. I was just dragged here against my will," Manish said dramatically, holding his hands in the air in surrender and Teddy laughed.

 

"Trying to clear my head," Scorpius said by way of explanation, ignoring his friend. "But nothing has worked so far, so as much as I love it, I doubt _this_ will."

 

"But you're hoping it does," Teddy said with furrowed eyebrows and he nodded. The blue-haired boy gripped his shoulder for a second in understanding, then shoved him to go get a broom, like the goofball of a brother he was.

Scorpius had managed to get on his broom and fly around the quidditch pitch a grand total of 2 times before he was officially tired of forcing himself to relax. It only served to make him more stressed. His brain was going a mile a minute and he was more than a little dizzy. Teddy had practically been flying circles around him today and Manish was in the bleachers reading a book. Something about Scorpius just felt off, but he couldn't piece together the words to express it.

"This isn't working," he said loudly, pouting and pulling his broom to a stop.

 

"You aren't _letting_ it work," Teddy argued, but he looked like he was just enjoying himself, hanging upside down from his own broom. Thoughts of how things could be long forgotten. "Stop thinking so much, just let yourself get caught up in the breeze."

 

"That's dangerous!" Scorpius said surprised, causing Teddy to laugh again.

 

"That's the point. The fear relaxes you. Makes other things seem less stressful sometimes." When it seemed like the younger blond still wasn't getting it, Teddy flipped right side up and sped off into the air, as high as possible, before gripping the broom and dropping altitude as if he were free falling. Scorpius noticed with a scream that he _was_ free falling. He gripped his broom tighter before taking off towards his brother. Before he could get close enough though, Teddy did a couple of barrel rolls and in a blur he was properly on his broom, zig-zagging his way to Scorpius.

 

The younger blond landed and threw his broom down, shaken up.

 

"W-w-wh-what w-were you eve-even-"

 

"Woah! Woah, Scorp, calm down!" Teddy said once he had landed next to him and dropped his broom to grip the boy by the shoulders.

 

"C-c-calm down?!" said Scorpius raising his voice, "H-how was th-th-that sp-s'posed to hel-help m-me re-rela-ax?! Y-you could ha-have..." He pushed the older boys hands off of him and placed a hand to his own chest. It was like his heart itself hurt. The pressure on his chest was painful as he tried to force air into his lungs. It almost burned in its intensity. He pounded his chest, as if that would force the air to flow properly. His dizziness which had subsided before was back full force and his head was throbbing in tune to the pressure that was back and forth on his chest. He needed to sit down, then he realized he was already on the ground.

 

"Scorp? Scorpius!?" Teddy said above him, but he couldn't hear it anymore, he could only see his lips moving. His eyes moved up until he was looking into Teddy's terrified gaze and briefly, he thought that this is what his brother deserved for scaring him like that, but everything went black before he could think about how insane that sounded.

 

**\--:--**

 

"Did Pomfrey give you an overview?" Draco asked once he had gathered his thoughts and put down the second piece of parchment claiming a Malfoy-Potter pregnancy. Harry shook his head.

 

"Too much stress. She said to give it a week at least."

 

"I don't see you being any less stressed in a week."

 

"Well we'll have been on prenatal potions for a bit then, so we should be feeling more energized and stuff. It'll redirect the stress into something more productive. Or, at least, that's what it did last time." Harry ran a hand through his own hair before tugging on the ends a bit. Who said this was going to be the same as last time? He at least hoped it was. Both of them did. Harry didn't necessarily like surprises and Draco just needed the piece of mind that Harry knew what to expect.

Harry placed a hand on his stomach and released a sigh. Knowing what to expect was only half the battle.

 

He opened his mouth to say as much when Teddy burst through the door with a terrified look on his face, carrying a nonsense mumbling Scorpius on his back. Manish was slowly walking in behind him, unsure of what to do with his hands.


	22. - vingt-deux -

"What the bloody fucking hell happened to him," Draco demanded, holding a hand to his stomach and placing the other on Scorpius' forehead to check for a fever, but the boy felt fine.

Teddy moved to lay his brother down and explain, he needed the few extra moments to get his thoughts together, even he wasn't completely sure what happened, but Manish had started talking for him. Serious in a way he had never seen him and he thought about how it sent a chill down his spine. How the goofing around was probably just to keep all his fears and anxieties at bay. Teddy knew the feeling.

"He'll be fine. Scorp's kinda been in a rough place...he's been taking his potions, cause I've seen him, but it just seems like everything has been getting to him recently." Manish shrugged as he picked at the lint on his jeans. He wore robes that swallowed his shoulders but looked almost constricting across his chest. "He hasn't been sleeping a lot either, so I guess the stress of flying with _Teddy_ triggered a panic attack. I don't know what's up with him exactly, but he's strong. He'll be okay when he gets some rest, I'm sure of it."

Draco wanted to cry. Harry could notice the furrow in his brow and the flutter of his eyelashes and the the tension in his shoulders. He turned to thank Manish for his help, but Draco was way ahead of him, scooping the boy into a very _un_ -Malfoy-like hug.

"I'm glad he has a friend like you," the blond said weeping, and Harry balked at him. Pregnancy hormones were not doing him any favors, it seemed. Draco would have never done this otherwise. He had changed, but not that much.

"O~kay," Harry said with wide eyes, "Manish, you and Teddy can go. I'm going to make sure everything is fine with all of...whatever is happening here." Harry motioned towards Scorpius laying on the couch then in his husband's general vicinity. He stopped them once, just as they got to the door. "Thank you for looking out for him, both of you. I know how hard it is to feel like the world depends on you, but it always help to have people on your side. I appreciate you guys being there for Scorp."

 

"Scorp has you lot to look out for him, but he's _my_ best friend, even if I'm not his, ya know? He doesn't think I'm weird and he invited me out to hang with him and everyone else and..." He shook his head as if to clear his thoughts, before scratching at a patch of pale skin on his neck. "He let me in and I'm not going to just leave him out to dry. He deserves better than that."

Harry nodded in awe at the tall kid in front of him who had been through so much. He remembers those dark eyes hidden behind bangs Scorp's first year when they were always a few seconds away from tears. Back when Manny was Manisha and slept in the girls dormitory. Harry smiled at how far he had come, then turned to Draco who had finally stopped crying but now seemed to be in a state of shock.

"Potter, what have you done to me," the blond whined and Harry laughed.

 

"Well, you see, when a daddy dragon and a daddy lion life each other very much-"

 

"Crossbreeding is untoward."

 

"When two daddy dragons love each other-"

 

"I hate you," Draco said, pulling himself closer to Harry, kissing his cheek and laying his forehead head on the slightly shorter man's shoulder. "I hate you so very much."

 

Harry smiled down at him.

 

"Yeah, you've told me that a few times."

 

**\--:--**

 

When Scorpius comes to, he is sure his dad is the one gripping his hand as if he only needed someone to drag him along to wake him up. When he actually opens his eyes though, he is in the infirmary and Manish is crushing his hand, even though he's pulled up a chair and fallen asleep on the edge of the bed. He should have realized before, because Manny's hands aren't as rough as either of his dads' or even Teddy's for that matter. He's thinking about reaching out his other hand to run it through Manny's hair when someone clears his throat. He blinks blearily and turns to be met with a blob of red hair and freckles and red cheeks.

"Are you- er...okay?" asks Hugo Weasley looking him in his eyes and he nods. "I heard Ro say you were in the hospital wing and I came as fast as I could, but then you were asleep and I didn't want to wake you, then I went to dinner in the great hall, but you weren't there 'cause you were here so I came back..." His gaze roams down to where Scorpius and Manny's hands are connected before snapping back up into the blond's eyes.

Scorpius panics and tries to snatch his hand away, but the jolt of movement, wakes Manny up with a jump.

"Scorp!" he yelps out scared before realizing the boy in question is staring him in the face with wide eyes.

 

"I'm- uh...I'm just gonna go," Hugo says breaking the silence and backing away from the bed. "I'm glad you're okay, Scor. Love you," he said just as easily as he always had. As though it was something he didn't have to think about. Something he just knew. The thought gave Scorpius pause. They weren't together, but hearing the red head say he still loved him made everything so much clearer.

 

"Hugo, w-wait," Scorpius said quietly. "D-d-don't leave. Stay t-til m-my Dads show up?"

 

"Your dads hate me," responded Hugo, but he hoisted himself onto the end of Scorp's bed with a smile anyway. Scorpius is thinking about how nice his smile looks now that he isn't missing a tooth and he changes the colors of his braces bands every couple of weeks. The colors clash horribly with his hair, but it's so inherently _Hugo_ that Scorpius can't take his eyes from his mouth. He is sure that if he says something it's going to be an embarrassing come-on that'll force the redhead to blush and put his freckles on full display.

 

"I don't think Pa really hates anyone," he says instead. "Anyways, this is my friend Manish-"

 

" _Oh_ ," Hugo says more to Manny than Scorpius, cutting the introduction short. "I know you. Everybody knows you."

 

Scorpius feels Manish tense up beside him though he isn't sure why, but he doesn't think he likes the tone Hugo is using. He hadn't met Manny until last year when the boy got moved into his dorm.

 

"What's your deal, Hu? Leave'im alone."

 

"You lot dating now? Is that it?"

 

"No," Scorpius said confused. "We're friends. I needed a few of those after you dropped me like a screeching mandrake."

 

Hugo was looking properly chastised and looked down at his mud stained trainers.

 

"Thank you for taking care of Scorpius," Hugo said before pushing himself off the bed. He schooled his expression into something light and playful, but Scorpius knew he was only faking it. Knew there was something else to it. "I'll see you guys around, yeah?"

He walked out without another word and the blond looked over towards his darker friend.

"Uh...do you know wh-what that was a-about?" Scorpius asked, but when his friend said nothing, he clarified. "What d-did he mean by ' _everybody_ _knows_ _who_ _you_ _are_?' are you famous or s-something?"

 

"Probably here at Hogwarts," Manish mumbles somewhat self-deprecatingly.

 

"Oh? What d'you m-mean?"

 

"I...well," he looked away as he spoke the next part, "I was born a girl. So when I first got here, I was enrolled as a female student."

 

"So that's why I hadn't met you until last year," Scorpius said more to himself then he looked back over to his friend. "I don't see why that's anyone elses business though."

 

"You don't think I'm weird?" Manish asked looking down at his hands and Scorpius shrugged through a laugh.

 

"Of course you're weird," he said, causing Manny's head to snap up, "but not for this. You're weird b-b-because you put t-tuna in your m-mac and ch-chee-cheese, not because y-you let yourself b-become who you re-really are."

Without warning, Manish threw himself onto Scorpius before wrapping his arms around him in one of the tightest hugs he had ever experienced and Scorpius let him. To be honest, after talking to Hugo and thinking that maybe they were both okay apart, he needed the comfort. He wrapped his arms around the taller boy with a smile.

"Thanks for not being a jerk, Scorpius."

 

"That's what friends are for, right?"

 

When Manny laughed, his goofy little snort of a laugh, he knew they were going to be okay.


	23. - vingt trois -

The spring came with all the energy of a niffler in a bank vault and Draco was sure his classes were tired of having class inside. _He_ was tired of being inside. The girls were one and spent most of their time with his parents or the Weasleys while he and Harry were at work and sitting inside was giving him too much time to think about wanting to be around his family. During breakfast one morning, he and Harry threw together a mixed lesson on defensive potions that the students could piece together in the courtyard and when it was time, led them there. Courtyard lessons worked out great until both Draco and Harry were about ready to pop. Just being around that much residual magic was sending them into episodes of false labor. Then one afternoon, it wasn't false.

 

**\--:--**

 

"Draco, you have to breathe. We haven't even gotten to the worse part, you need to relax through your contractions or we're going to have to give you a calming draught," Healer Jones said as she did basic diagnostic and ultrasound spells. She wasn't his usual Medi-witch. She had only been assigned to him only because there had been another emergency elsewhere.

 

"I will relax when you tell me where the bloody fucking hell my husband is!" Draco snapped through clenched teeth, his grip tight around the handle on the side of the bed.

 

"I assure you, your husband is fine, but _you_ need to relax!"

 

"If he's fine, why isn't he here?" Draco said annoyed.

 

"The expulsion of magic from your water breaking sent your husband into labor as well. He's in the next room over."

 

"Oh fuck," he says quietly with his head in his hands.

 

"Now, Draco, can you please relax. We can't get your little boy out unless you relax. I need you to _breathe_."

 

"Oh _fuck_ ," Draco said again, this time with feeling. "I can't do this without him. Seven hells, how could this- does this happen a lot?"

 

"With double pregnancies? Yes. It shows how close you are, how intertwined your magic is to each other that something like this pulls a reaction from both of you. It's beautiful to watch."

 

"I'm glad we're such the pretty sodding picture!"

Healer Jones didn't look particularly bothered by his tone and continued checking his and the baby's vitals. She waved a hand at him when he looked too tense.

"And we're breathing," she said leading him into a breathing exercise. "It's almost _go_ - _time_ as the muggles say. Do you know what kind of birth you're leaning towards?"

 

"When...uh- When Harry had our girls, he did a- I believe it was called a captive birth?" Once she nodded he continued. "And I've done research into the different kinds of male pregnancy births, but I don't see any real pros or cons to any of them. You're the medi-witch, what do you think? I just want my son to be healthy."

Healer Jones opened her mouth to give her opinion when there was a tentative knock and the door blew open softly.

"We came as soon as we could," said a somewhat nervous Narcissa Malfoy. "Are you okay, dear?"

 

"Yes, mother."

 

"And where is your husband?" Lucius said with a raised eyebrow.

 

"Giving birth in the next room over, if Healer Jones is to be believed. Where are the boys?"

 

"They're in the lobby with the Weasleys," his father says, still teaching himself to say the name without any venom behind it.

Narcissa walks over, gently placing one hand to his forehead and the other on his belly.

"When can we be expecting him?" she asked no one in particular.

 

"Within the next few hours once we decide the method of birth," answered Healer Jones. It wasn't long after that they finally made a decision.

Draco took a deep breath and his mother let him grip her hand as tightly as he needed to. They were going to make it through this. He prayed to Merlin that Harry was doing good too.

 

**\--:--**

 

"'Mione, I'm fine, I promise. Stop hovering," Harry insisted, waving away his friend's hand as she tried to check his temperature again. "The contra-" He stopped to grind his teeth as the pain throbbed through him.

 

"You were saying?" Hermione teased just as Healer Harper entered the room followed by Healer Godwin.

 

"Good to see you again Harry," Harper says with a small smile, "I am sorry it's so unexpected again. Are we following the same procedure as last time?"

 

"Yes, please. We've been a bit more careful this time, but with the girls just turning one and Scorpius' potions needing updating more frequently, we've been kinda stressed, so I'd be more comfortable with you doing a few checks while their still protected."

 

"Godwin, put Mr. Malfoy-Potter down for an encapsulated calling," she ordered before turning back to Harry. She tilted his bed back and lifted his legs into stirrups with a wave of her and before performing a stretching and measurement charm. Harper leaned in close and began running spells over him that tickled and Harry had to stop blushing more than once at both the sensation and proximity of his medi-witch to his personal bits, as if she had never seen them before. Unaware of his inner comfort levels, Healer Harper nodded to herself before standing tall again. "We'll be back in about an hour once you're a little further on to begin the calling. Continue to do your breathing exercises."

Harry let out a breath as she led Healer Godwin from the room and walked out. Hermione ran a hand through his hair, watching as the bed readjusted itself from its openly displayed position. He had done this before. He could do this again.

 

**\--:--**

 

Mr. and Mr. Malfoy-Potter are put on bed rest for the next week. Only one of them adheres to that rule.

"Potter! Come back to bed you stubborn oaf!" Draco calls from his spot on their shared bed, propped on pillows with his wand aimed at the door where he is (petulantly) reinforcing the lock whenever Harry makes any attempt to open it.

 

"I'm going to check on the boys," be argued, tugging at the door which is making no moves in his favor.

 

"Both of their grandmothers are down there!"

 

"But what if Narcissa needs help or what if Molly needs someone to watch them while she takes something out of the oven..." Harry knows he is grasping at straws.

 

"Harry, look at me."

Harry looks up at his husband with such a pitiful expression that draco forces himself out of bed and makes his way over to him in his silk nightie, wrapping his arms around him.

"What if-"

 

"Three days," Draco said softly, cutting him off. "Harper says a week, but we know that'd be asking a bit much for you. So you only have to rest in bed for three days. Mother will bring the boys up later so they can have a bottle and we can cuddle them before bed. We need this rest okay? You need this. Let yourself have it."

Harry's body went somewhat slack in his husband's arms and he nodded into his shoulder. 

"You're right," he agreed.

 

"Aren't I always?" Draco says sounding honestly confused and Harry nudges him as they help each other back towards the bed, bodies sore and loose and tired in a way only giving birth can do. "I don't think I ever got the chance to thank you."

 

"For what?" Harry asked through a yawn.

 

"For naming one of the twins after my father."

 

"James?" Harry said with furrowed eyebrows but a quirk of his lips.

 

"James _Lucius_ ," said the blond, shoving him. "Don't act thick."

 

"If I was acting I would have guessed Albus Sirius," the ravenette said through a chuckle.

 

"Albus, James and Cepheus," Draco says softly, while lifting his husband's hands to his lips and kissing the knuckles. "Our baby boys."

Their eyes meet in silent elation and when they move together for a kiss it is both soft and passionate all at once.


	24. - vingt quatre -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for future reference, there is a lot to unpack this chapter. it's like flashes of life that cover like 3 years.
> 
> first (1) flash is just after school is out of the same year.
> 
> the second (2) break is Teddy's graduation a year later.
> 
> the third (3) is the triplets third birthday 2 years after that.

Cepheus, Albus and James, are perfectly healthy newborns by everyone's standards. They're each born an hour apart, but even so, Cepheus is born a day before the other two boys and cries the loudest after they check his lungs. Albus is the youngest and after a week at home, he still hasn't made a noise other than soft crying when he's in need, but the doctor says he's fine. Harry lets out a deep breath, because his life has always been unsure, but now it's stable. Once he and Draco are off bed rest, he runs to the boy's nursery because he can hold his sons and sing to them and read to them and cuddle them...until Draco wants a turn.

They're all round, pale brown bundles, but there was no surprise when Cepheus was the only dirty blond, even as he opened those forest green eyes. James, who giggled the most, has a pale patch of skin on his back which curls around interestingly that Harry is almost sure are going to be a pair of antlers, but he also has Draco's grey eyes. Albus, who is a spitting image of Harry in the way that Scorpius used to be of Draco, is breathtaking. 

He wants to cry because the stress of pregnancy leading up to this wasn't always beautiful but now he knows for sure that his baby boys are healthy. And that's all that matters.

 

**\--:--**

 

"Congratulations, Hogwarts Graduates!" says McGonagall through a sonorous charm that echoes in the excited silence of the Great Hall, before hoots and hollers and cheers break out from parents, students and teachers all the same. These were the last of the children who's families were torn apart by the war. This was them proving that those efforts were not in vain. It was something to celebrate.

Harry and Draco and all Teddy's siblings sat in the audience because his parents had decided to take a couple of years off to raise the five bouncing babies they seemed to have acquired in the last few years and didn't want to intrude. They insisted it was his day, but he doesn't think he would have gotten there without them.

He thought that he should probably be more overwhelmed than he actually was as he tossed his pointed hat into the air with the rest of his class. He had barely turned 18 a month ago and now school was over. He was leaving a place that, for the last 7 years, had been as close to home as anything he could imagine and now he was moving into a new one. His Gam had left him her house in her will. He knew he had a home at the Manor if he still wanted it, but his Pops let _him_ choose what he wanted to do. And he knew nothing would be the same as his Gam's house, full of color and warm memories, equally as close to the ocean as it was to the country. He was old enough to make these decisions. He was old enough to try and live on his own.

He cried when he finished moving in and straightening up a bit. He had his entire life to make this house feel like himself, but walking into the living room kills him. His Gam's favorite chair is empty, but her sewing is still laid across the seat as if she had went to stir a pot and would be coming right back. He sobbed harder, because regardless of her death and the sadness it strikes in his heart, this house would always feel like coming home.

He realized he was shivering and decided to light the fireplace, before sitting down in front of it with his arms wrapped around his legs, chin tucked in as he cried into his knees. 

He doesn't tell his dads, but he suspects his pops already knows.

 

****\--:--** **

 

 

"Correct me if I'm wrong," starts an almost 20 year old Teddy playfully while on video chat with a Hogwarts pacing Scorpius,"but we never had parties this big for our birthdays."

 

"We have different birthdays and typically they're during school," Scorpius said with a fond smile, while running a hand through his own hair. "We had to study. We just never had time for _huge_ birthday parties.

 

"You're just saying that because you know dads can hear you," Teddy says accusingly."Stop kissing up, dork."

 

"I'm not. Besides, I have to go, I actually _was_ studying when you called. Tell everyone I love them," Scorpius said through a laugh before hanging up and Teddy crosses his arms after stuffing his magically enhanced muggle phone back into his pocket.

 

"I'm going to pout at the cupcakes until Elle calls," he said finally, nodding at his fathers.

 

"You could have just invited her," Draco said with raised eyebrows.

 

"Sure, he responded as he walked away, "But where would the fun be, in that?"

Draco opened his mouth to respond when he noticed Pansy picking up yet another glass of champagne and he decided to call both her and Ginny Weasley closer to run interference.

As soon as he walked away, it was as if Harry was a child magnet, considering how fast Cepheus came over to him and climbed up into his arms.

"Don't you want to play with everyone else, CeCe?" Harry asks the boy who has his head tucked into the space between his dad's shoulder and his neck. Cepheus shakes his head. He's not a fan of crowds and Harry completely understands, so he kisses his son's forehead and continues watching as the party rages on around them.

It's the weekend after the triplets third birthday and Draco decided to throw, what he called, a small family party. Looking around at the yard full of people and activities, Harry thinks that maybe it's small for _Malfoy_ , but he couldn't really agree. He hadn't said anything, because even though it wasn't a small affair by any means, the boys were happy and Draco looked so giddy to be doing something productive again since the final book on Harry's life had been published.

Cepheus hadn't started talking even though he was the oldest of the three baby boys. Their fathers thought he could have been deaf, but the healers said he heard fine. It took a while for them to learn, understand and properly move their hands in order to use sign language in his presence, but they did it. Somehow even with his mute nature, he was still more talkative than Albus. Harry rubbed a soothing hand down his back, and felt the boy relax even more into him.

"It's the perfect season for a party," Pansy insists for about the 30th bloody time, her cheeks already pink from drinking more than she should have in the first place, and her arms tossed around Ginny's shoulders in a way that was so familiar but not as comfortable as Harry suspected they usually were.

 

"Yes," agreed Draco unthinking, paying more attention to where Cepheus was now clinging onto Harry. His forehead crinkled and he opened his mouth to ask what was going on, but his husband waved him off. The blond man looked at him skeptically but let it go until they were alone.

After a few minutes Harry stands up and pulls back from Cepheus just enough to ask him what was wrong.

" _James'_ _too_ _loud_ ," the boy signs and covers his ears when aforementioned boy lets out an ear piercing screech and chases after Matteo, Blaise's adopted son, though he looked like a chip off the ol' block. Harry smiled but looked down at his son in his arms, because James and Matteo were across the yard. Had been playing in the Manor's garden maze all afternoon. Cepheus had been close to the house and Harry knows this because he had seen him watching Ron and Draco play chess before the house elves brought out the food. When Draco finally lost to Ron, Cepheus stayed and listened to him explain the rules while he let him hold the pieces.

"Sweetheart, James is on the other side of the yard," Harry explained gently, which was saying a lot considering the sheer size of Malfoy Manor's grounds.

 

" _Too_ _loud!_ " he signs again, a little harsher.

As if on cue James lets out another screech of accomplishment when he catches Matteo and Harry watches as Albus stomps over to push his twin over. He points his finger at him like he's preparing to give him a lashing, but he doesn't say anything. He points at Cepheus huddled up with his hands over his ears in Harry's arms and the playful glee falls from James' face.

Quickly, James pushes himself off the ground and walks over to where Harry is sitting.

"Cep'us," he said, barely above a whisper, waiting for his brother to turn and look at him. "Sowwy. I be quiet now. I p'omise."

 

" _Okay_ ," signed the little blond. He pushed off of Harry's lap and hugged his brother, but now James was crying.

Anita and Lyra stomp over, protective as ever to see what Harry's done and his head falls in defeat because now Albus was there trying to console his twin in silence, his girls are actively trying to berate him and Draco was looking at them from across the yard a mix of confusion and concern.

So maybe his life still wasn't stable, per se, but he loved it. Usually.

After the situation was resolved, he didn't think about it again until they were in bed that night and all the kids had been put to sleep.

"Sorry about the party," mumbled Harry into Draco's chest.

 

"Why're you apologizing? Cepheus got overstimulated from all the noise and James wouldn't _purposely_ hurt a fly. They're toddlers, Harry. They're going to cry."

 

"But you just- you worked so hard. And I tried to handle it, but I couldn't. I'm sorry."

 

"I knew what I signed up for when I married you. There is no running away, okay? This family is _ours_."

Draco pulled him in closer, wrapping his arms more firmly around his husband's back and they both relaxed into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Matteo (Blaise's son) is a muggle-born orphan who he adopted around the time the boys were born. his mother died in childbirth. & no blaise is not in a relationship, he's a big bad single father. love hiM.
> 
> Matteo is an Italian name meaning gift from God, cause Blaise has been through so much with his own family endeavors ya know.
> 
> ask any questions if something else doesn't make sense here. i know there was a lot in there to take in...


	25. - vingt cinq -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the chapter that made me write the entirety of book 3 of this series. it was going to be a one shot look ahead, but i wanted more :)

Anita Lily & Lyra Narcissa were two of the most annoying siblings Scorpius could have asked for. He was absolutely sure he wasn't that much of a busybody when _he_ was 5 years old. At least James Lucius and Albus Sirius knew how to sit and stay for Merlin's sake and they were sodding toddlers. Even Cepheus had taken to just coloring to stay out of the way. He took a deep breath before flopping back onto his bed and relaxing in a puff of air. He had promised his fathers he would babysit all of the kids, if they agreed to let him stay with Teddy next week. It's not that he was tired of the manor, per se, but his brother had become an at home creature trainer since getting his own place and it may have been one of the coolest things he'd ever seen.

He stood up with his shoulders back and took a deep breath. He wasn't the only one stuck at home either, Hugo was babysitting little Naomi, while both of their parents went out for dinner. Scorpius, however, was a step ahead. _He_ was a Malfoy-Potter. He could do this.

Well he thought he could do it, until Lyra burped and sent herself flying through the room with a laugh. It didn't take long for Anita to follow her lead after that. He pinched the bridge of his nose with a groan.

He could _try_ to do this.

"Lyra and Anita," he said as sternly as he could manage, "get down from there!"

 

"Why?" asked Anita, crossing her arms as both her and her sister made themselves comfortable, sitting on the ceiling.

 

"Because it's dangerous!"

 

"Why?" she asked again.

 

"Because you could fall and seriously hurt yourself," Scorpius was getting more hysterical by the second.

 

"But why?" she asked giggling at his misfortune.

 

"Because of-" he paused for a moment, "well gravity, I would think."

 

"Why?" she prompted again, forcing him to think about his father telling him about how gravity is supposed to keep them from flipping off the edge of the earth, followed by an entire argument where his dad tried to explain that the earth was, in fact, not flat but round and they wouldn't just fall off the edge. He rubbed at his temple.

 

"I don't bloody know why! Just get down because I'm in charge."

 

"I'm in charge," she mimicked, making faces at him. "I'm Scorp'us and I'm in charge!"

 

"Fine!" he snapped. "Be Scorpius. Be in charge." He walked out of the room and heard the little girls arguing the way kids do when they're sure they're going to get in trouble.

 

"Scorp'us," whined Lyra loudly. "Scor'pus, come back, please! Anita say sorry so he'll still play with us, you big meany!"

 

"No," the slightly older girl argued."He wants me to get down and I don't want to."

 

"You're just saying that 'cause you can't get down. You don't know how!"

 

"I do too know how!"

 

"Prove it!"

 

"No," says Anita sounding a lot less sure of herself. "I- I just don't want to. I like it up here."

 

"You can't get down, _ha~ha_ ," Lyra teased. Her loud teasing caused the younger kids to stop what they were doing and look on to where their sisters were standing on opposite surfaces yelling at each other.

 

"'Nita stuck!" laughed James, stumbling over to where Lyra was and standing

 

"Be nice, Jamesie!" yelled Albus, throwing a stuffed kneazle at his brother, before James caught it and threw it back with his tongue stuck out. He was the quieter one of the two, but it was much easier to upset him and he was trying to talk more. Trying to be heard. The younger twin boy teetered over to where he brother was standing and pushed him over. "You meanie!"

Lyra stood with both hands on her hips still teasing her sister who was successfully stranded on the ceiling of the play room. She only crossed her arms when Anita started crying.

"I don't care!" she yelled. "You made Scorp'us cry too."

 

"Scorp'us _can't_ cry!" Anita said sniffing loudly.

 

"Yeah-huh!"

 

"No, Scorp'us is a grown up and grown ups don't cry, Daddy said so," the ceiling bound 5 year old says with her arms still crossed, and her sister nods because if their daddy said it, it _must_ be true.

 

"Then Scorp'us not a grown up," Lyra appeases. "He's a big kid 'cause kids cry and you were mean and hurt his feelings. He was just tryna help you 'cause he loves us and he wants us to be safe."

Scorpius stood just outside of the doorway, leaning up against the wall, trying to calm himself down enough to go back into the playroom. Luckily, he had grown out of his stutter the same way people grew out of their shoes and cloaks after Hogwarts or the way Manny grew into his shoulders once he started taking the proper potions. Unluckily, moments of stress could ram it back into him. He had his eyes closed, taking deep breaths in and counting on his exhale, when he felt a tug on the hem of his shirt.

" _You_ _help_ ," signed Cepheus.

 

"They have to work it out for themselves," Scorpius said as if his little brother understood what that even meant.

 

" _No_ ," he signed back. " _You_ _help_ _Anita_ _get_ _down_." He pointed emphatically at his sister who was trapped and sobbing again. " _Her_ , _too_ _**loud!**_ "

Scorpius laughed, but nodded as he left him in the hall, away from the noise, and went back into the room to pry his little sister from the ceiling. He attempted to place her on the ground, but she wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him, still crying.

"I'm sorry, Scorp'us!" she sobbed out, hiccup-ing.

 

"It's okay, Anita," he said softly, rubbing her back to calm her down, "You're okay."

 

"Thank you, Scorp'us," said Lyra quietly, who closer up, he noticed had been crying too. He smiled because she was angry but she was concerned about her sister. He rubbed her hair lovingly. He understood the feeling. It wasn't too much longer that Anita cried herself to sleep and he laid her down in her bed.

He went back to the play room, but everyone else had somehow made it to their beds as well. He quickly realized it was the elves and went into the kitchen to thank them, but ran into his father's, faces red and clothes ragged from an overly enthusiastic pub and date night with Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron. They were leaning on each other at the shoulders, mostly to keep each other standing. He shook his head and went down the stairs to help them to bed too.

"I wasn't supposed to be babysitting you lot too," he muttered mostly to himself, but once he helps them up the stairs they're able to hobble their way to they're own bedroom.

 

"You're a great- _hiccup_ \- kid, Scor- _hiccup_ \- pius," Harry stutters out once Draco tumbles into the room and lands face first on the mattress. "Good- _hiccup_ \- night. Love y- _hiccup_ \- you."

 

"Yeah," Scorpius laughs, "Love you too, Papa."

He makes sure to keep this memory safe. Being older makes you question yourself a lot more than he thought it would. Sure his papa has always said he loved him, but some tiny part of him always thought it was a lie. He's starting to patch that part up. It's the little things, he thinks, and when he turns around, Cepheus is there with his mouth closed, and his arms up. Without another thought Scorpius picks him up and carries him into the room with him, telling him stories about the adventures of the snake and the lion and the baby scorpion that came along, but they were both asleep before he could finish the story.


	26. - vingt six-

"Do you think we should take Cepheus to a muggle healer," asked Draco quietly when they finally agree to let Scorpius spend the weekend with Teddy. It's not an unfounded conversation, taking him to a doctor, but it was one that only came up when Lucius was able to burrow his way into Draco's head.

 

"Is this about what your dad said during brunch on Sunday?" Harry said, his grip tight on his pen as he paused in the middle of writing to decline an invitation to another Ministry function. Draco looked nervously over his shoulder at the papers.

 

"You can't just keep declining them every time they invite you to a banquet."

 

"Don't change the subject. Is this about your dad?"

 

"No! I just-" Draco won't look at him. "What if I did something wrong or something I shouldn't have when I carried him. Magic can't detect everything. If he is physically healthy and capable of doing something, then that's as far as magic goes. It can't do anything to explain what happens if he _won't_."

 

"There is nothing wrong with Cepheus," said Harry sternly, turning around to look at Draco. "He just experiences the world differently and there is nothing _wrong_ with that."

 

"I'm not-" Draco looked taken aback."I would never insinuate that there _was_. I just want to know what's going on so I can help him. I want to know what we can do to make things easier. When we all learned to sign, that was a huge step, but it didn't solve everything. He never wants to play with the twins or anyone really. He just sits and watches. Or he fusses over that bloody chess set. Or he's insisting that someone holds him. I just want to know _why_."

 

"And you think a muggle doctor can help with that?"

 

"I don't know, but it's the only option we haven't tried."

It takes a little more than 2 weeks for Harry, Draco and Hermione to find a squib doctor who knows enough about male pregnancy and magical children and their maladies to give Cepheus and the twins a general check-up. It takes another week for him to have an opening. They dropped James and Albus at the Granger-Weasley house before heading to the appointment.

Draco thought back to watching Astoria grab Scorpius and go to meetings like these. Meetings he had thought were beneath him for so long. Even after he brushed off his father's prejudice about blood purity he was still too tense to properly visit muggle areas, especially to admit weakness. When Astoria died, it all fell on him. Scheduling appointments and finding doctors who would work with mind healers and mediwizards that would asist therapists. At the end of the day he ended up finding one place and just doing it all himself.

Now he was back at phase one again, listening as the nurse asked them a few questions before the doctor came in. After the initial check up, he returns to refer them to the (in-hiding wizard) psychiatrist. The walk up the two flights of stairs to his office gave Draco time to try out a few deep breathing exercises.

They didn't work.

Harry reached his hand up to knock on the door, but it's thrown open before he can.

"Mr. and Mr. Malfoy-Potter, welcome! I'm Dr. Kitano." The wizard in front of them looks old and senile, but both his hands and his eyes are steady as they reach for Cepheus. "Excuse me, young man, can I  hold your hand for a moment?"

The young boy shakes his head though and signs quickly, Harry starting to interpret for older wizard.

" _Can't_ _talk_ _with_ _no_ _hands_."

 

"I assure you, it'll only be a moment," the wizard said, squatting so that he and Cepheus were practically at eye level. The young boy narrowed his eyes the way he had seen his father do so many times, without making eye contact, yet shook his head no again. The man nodded and instead asked him to follow him over to a corner of his office filled with toys. Cepheus doesn't join him until the doctor tells him what's in the corner.

Harry and Draco watch as their son circles the room in search of something. When he doesn't find it, he flops onto the floor and begins angrily signing and grunting in tandem.

"You don't like my toys?" Kitano asked, seemingly making mental notes.

 

" _No_ ," signs Cepheus harshly and Harry hasn't seen him this angry in ages.

 

"So what kind of toys do you like? Maybe I can find something for you."

 

" _I_ _like_ _coloring_ _and_ _chess_ ," Cepheus signs, still harshly and not looking at Dr. Kitano or anything else really.

The doctor smiles then pulls out a pen and paper. He hands it to the boy who only pushes it away. He tries again only to get the same result. Before giving up completely, he conjures up a wooden checkerboard that sends Cepheus into an excited bounce, but then Kitano summons small round wooden checker pieces while trying to explain the similarities and Cepheus is growling again signing a stream of _No_. _No_. _No_. _No_. _No_.

 

"Merlin," said Draco somewhat surprised and embarrassed because he had never seen the boy react that way, going forward and lifting Cepheus up from where he is laying on the floor kicking his feet. "I am so sorry, doctor."

 

"Nothing to be sorry for," Kitano assured him. "This is perfectly normal for him, I'm guessing." He looked at the boy in Draco's arms, calmer now that he's being held and nodded. "You're paperwork said he has twin brothers as well, does he play with them often?"

 

"Uh...well, he likes to be near them, but he rather play on his own," Harry answered, only because Draco was still rubbing a soothing hand down Cepheus' back.

 

"Again, no need to be nervous, Mr. Malfoy-Potter, that's perfectly normal."

 

"I beg your pardon," Draco snapped, "but we have other children and that is not perfectly _normal_."

 

"Maybe not for _them_ , but it is for Cepheus. Have you either of you ever heard of Autism?"

Harry nods confused before realization hits him, but Draco is still shaking his head no. As Dr. Kitano explained the situation to Draco, Harry is looking at the little blond boy in his husband's arms and tries to force down the extreme need to protect that encompasses him. He thinks of Hermione who probably already suspected, but had enough faith in him and Draco to be able to deal with this and teach their kids how to deal with this and he smiles.

"So," said Draco, taking the diagnosis in stride, "is that why he doesn't talk? He doesn't understand that he has to when he can just point or sign for it? Will he still be able to learn spells?"

 

"For the most part the answer is yes to all of those questions. He _is_ **able** to talk and _can_ learn, though it will take much more probing than with a neurotypical child. Though I can provide you with a few pamphlets on the most effective ways to go about it. It seems that otherwise, you've both been doing a great job trying to adjust to his needs even without knowing exactly what they are."

Draco bites his tongue, because he doesn't need to be bloody thanked for taking proper care of his children, but then he catches a glance of Harry's face and knows that not all guardians are like that. He thinks of his own father, doing what he thought was right even when the going got tough and everything was falling apart around them and he was hurting more than helping.

"Thank you," he murmured instead before asking for book recommendations to learn more about how to help Cepheus. Thanking the doctor again, he grabbed Harry's hand and they made their way silently to the elevator, their son's arms wrapped around his neck, tucking himself as close to his father as possible. He sits up once to sign a question, but he isn't looking at either of his parents when he does it.

 

" _I_ _sick?_ "

 

"No," Harry answered calmly. "You're perfectly healthy, you just go through life a little differently and we're going to help you figure it out, okay?"

 

" _Okay_ ," the boy agreed. Draco realized with a start that he hadn't known much about anything when he was younger and he didn't want to know at the time. He had thought things were only one way and he thought about how many witches or wizards went through life with problems like this that they would never look into because they weren't open-minded about muggle diagnosis. The way _he_  used to be.

He couldn't fix everyone else's view, but he would adjust his own every day if he had to. If that's what it would take to make things just a bit easier for his children.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i haven't been diagnosed with autism but my therapist says i "exhibit autistic behaviors which stem from [my] anxiety and could place [me] somewhere on the spectrum" soooo there's that


	27. - vingt sept -

Scorpius was tentative when he knocked on his brother's door, but Teddy opened it with a smile and pulled his little brother into his house.

"Welcome to Casa de la Teddy!" he said happily, holding his arms out to either side of him to encompass the area around him.

 

"I'm just here for the dragons and invisible pegasi," said the younger blond, pushing past his brother towards the guest rooom to put his bags down. Teddy laughs as he follows him around the house excited to have company other than Elle and the creatures.

 

"They're called _thestrals_ ," Teddy corrected, helping Scorpius get comfortable in the room. He stands at the door while his younger brother moves around a guest room, that used to be his, picking stuff up and examining them before putting them back down.

 

"Do you like it out here?" he asked quietly.

 

"What, you plan on staying in the Manor the rest of your life?" Teddy asked not looking directly at him.

 

"Merlin, no," Scorpius said almost a little too harshly. He sits on the edge of the bed, fidgeting with a small toy car that had moving wheels. "I plan on getting a flat in London or something. I hate the idea of being alone in the country. Dad locked everything up, back when I was younger, ya know? So it was just us and the house elves. He made a prison for himself but I was dragged along for the most part. I never realized until Papa showed up and changed everything."

 

"Hogwarts is in the country," Teddy argues just for the sake of lightening the mood.

 

"But there's always something going on and it's full of people," Scorpius said, that haunted look not leaving his face. "I don't think I could live in the silence any more than you or dads seem to want to. You all have so much in the world to hide from, which isn't a bad thing, but I don't have those same connections that you lot do to people. To the war." He shakes his head with an unhumorous chuckle. "I don't know what they'd do without me though."

 

"They're grown men, Scorp," says his brother finally, "They'll figure it out. It's not for you to do for them. You have your own shit to figure out. Wherever you go, that's your decision to make. Now, c'mon I have to feed the babies before it gets too late."

 

Scorpius stood up, placing the car back onto the tall dresser and following his brother back down the hall out the back door, into the yard and towards the stables, feeling calmer than he had in a long time.

 

**\--:--**

 

"Hold still!" Teddy orders as he aims his wand at a whining Scorpius.

 

"Why can't you just do this with Elle?" Scorpius says, but he stops fidgeting before letting out another yelp.

 

"They don't stick so it's no use pricking her over and over again."

Scorpius snorts and Teddy jabs his wand a little less gently, forcing Scorpius to reach for his ear in pain.

"I don't see why you're perfecting your piercing charms anyway," the younger boy says, looking into a mirror he conjures for himself then checking his face again with his phone camera.

 

"You like them, don't you?" Teddy asks quietly.

 

"You pick now to be sheepish about it? I look like I should be in a muggle punk band or something."

 

"Yeah," he agrees unenthusiastically. Teddy is looking more and more uncomfortable and Scorpius can see him fiddling with his own lip ring as he chews on the side of his mouth nervously.

 

"The piercings are fine, Ted. What's really going on with you?"

 

"It's a couple of things, actually..."

 

"Okay?" Scorpius says with a wave of his hand, telling him to go on.

 

"I'm going to ask Elle to marry me."

 

"About time, but that's not what you're worked up about, is it? I mean, you know she's going to say yes, right? You guys have been together for ages! She loves you." 

Teddy blushes while tugging at the bottom of his ear just for something to do. 

"Well...see the thing is, earlier, you were talking about wanting to move into the city and it's just-" he takes a moment to compose himself and Scorpius looks on patiently. "I love living here near the water and the country and everything, but when Elle is at work it's lonely around here."

 

"I'm not moving in," Scorpius says with both hands raised in surrender. "Especially once you two are disgustingly in love _and_ married."

 

"I wasn't asking you to, ponce," Teddy said, finally breathing a laugh out through his nose. "I was- well, do you think dads would help invest in getting me a tattoo and piercing shop? Ya know, down in London. There's this nice building near Diagon, with an apartment over if you wanted to stay there and it's in the muggle area, but it's close enough to the major wizarding points that it wouldn't be too short on business and-"

 

"Teddy!" Scorpius exclaims excitedly. "That's a brilliant idea! I d-d-don't know how dads'll feel about it, but it sounds b-brilliant!

 

"Sorry," his brother said, "I didn't mean to work you up, I thought you'd grown out of your stutter."

 

"More or l-l-less," the now buzzing blond agreed.

 

"Do you really think it's a good idea?"

 

"Of course, I d-do. Why would I say it w-was if it wasn't?" Scorpius said looking confused then taking a deep breath to get hia speech back on track.

 

"Because you don't have the best track record with good ideas," Teddy teased but Scorpius gave him a challenging look.

 

"Give me _one_ bad idea I've had past the age of 13," Scorpius says calming his speech and looking smug, but Teddy looked as if that would make no difference and it didn't.

 

"There was that time you got caught watching muggle porn and thought it would be a good idea to convince Pa it was a foreign film when he asked."

 

"It _was_ a foreign film," Scorpius says though his cheeks are blazing red.

 

"Yeah, an extremely vulgar foreign film from Japan," Teddy snorts out.

 

"For Merlin's sake, please stop talking." Scorpius is looking anywhere but at his brother and Teddy laughs harder, before smacking a hand on the younger boy's shoulder.

 

"Hint taken," Teddy says instead turning the conversation around again. "So...do you think there's actually a market for magic tattoos.

 

"Probably," Scorpius says gratefully, but it still takes him a few moments before he can look at his brother again. It's not his fault he had been a hormonal teenager. He's pretty sure it comes with the territory. "I mean, Pa always says he wants a muggle one, but I think it's only because no one has ever really heard of magic tattoos. It seems doable in theory, though." Scorpius was finally getting more and more excited as he talked. This was something he could do. Research. "I could read up on the applied charms and practical uses and muggle alternatives. I was thinking about signing on at the Ministry in the Illegal Charms division because I couldn't find anything else, but this seems way better!"

 

"Teddy's Tats!" the blue haired young man exclaimed excitedly and Scorpius laughed.

 

"Maybe we can come up with the name later. For now, we have to finish your farm chores or whatever they're called and then you have to tell dads about both of your _brilliant_ ideas."

 

"When you say it that way, it doesn't sound quite as brilliant anymore," Teddy whined, but his brother only shrugged before throwing a brush at him and pulling him back out to the stables to brush the thestral manes. They were Scorpius' favorite, even if he couldn't see them. The younger guy was right about one thing, chores had to be done first. He'd call his dads tomorrow. Some things could be done later.


	28. - vingt-huit -

"It just isn't fair, Papa!" said Anita, as they flew around tossing a quaffle. Albus, Cepheus, and James, were in the air with them, but they were only hitting a bludger back and forth. Teddy was visiting for the weekend and he was down in the Manor's garden, helping Draco feed Eltanin, the crup. Lyra hadn't come out of her room since they heard the news.

 

"I know it isn't fair, lovely, but-" Harry caught a particularly powerful pass and threw it back lighter with a spin. She caught the ball with both hands, floating stationary on her broom. Her hands were shaking as she replied.

 

"Our birthday is 4 months away! We're still going to be 11 within this year!" She pushed the ball away forcefully and Harry caught it, but he saw the tears threatening to spill from her eyes and flew over to pull her into a hug even as they each sat on their respective brooms. "It's just not _fair_."

 

" _Life_ isn't fair, sometimes. That means once you get there, you have to show them that you and Lyra are the best sodding wizards this side of Merlin since Dumbledore. Show them what they were missing. They're trying to hold you back, you have to prove them wrong. Show them that they're only doing you a favor."

 

"How am I supposed to do that?"

 

"Just do your best, that's all any of us can ask for."

 

"I love you, Papa," she whispers into the fabric of his cloak and he rubs her back before kissing the top of her head.

 

"I love you too, Anita."

 

**\--:--**

 

"You have to come out at some point, dear." Draco stood outside of Lyra's door. The freckled girl hadn't come out of her room and it'd been days. No one had even talked to her other than Anita who told them that her sister just didn't want to be bothered. In Draco's opinion she had moped enough and he wasn't going to let her miss breakfast again.

 

"My class is not exciting enough for you to be moping this much because you have to wait another year for it."

 

"I spent all summer practicing on my potion kit, though," she said petulantly from where she is sitting on top of her bed's canopy, once Draco forces himself into the room. "Now we have to go back to Scamander Academy and learn more theoretical magic."

 

"All magic is theoretical. Being at Hogwarts won't change that. Now, how the bloody hell," Draco said ignoring her distress, "did you manage to get on the roof of the bed?"

 

"Forced a cushioning charm at the curtains and then climbed up the wall," said Lyra tiredly, as if it were the easiest thing in the world. Draco put his hands to his temples and closed his eyes.

 

"You shouldn't even know how to do a cushioning charm, let alone be able to do one without a wand."

 

"Aunt Luna said that wands are just funnels for magical energy, but magic itself is natural and if we can control it properly we may never need a wand. Wands are practice tools to learn how to-"

 

"Luna isn't always the best person to listen to when it comes to-"

 

"But Aunt Hermione agreed with her. _She_ said that lots of native magic cultures don't use wands at all after the age of five and others never use wands at all."

 

"I don't think I can do this right now. I haven't even had my coffee yet. Off the canopy, you're coming to breakfast."

 

"I'm not hungry," she said not looking at him.

 

"Then you can just mope at the table. Get down _now_."

His tone left no room for argument or discussion and she made her way back over to the wall beside her bed and climbed down before following him out of her room and into the dinning area where everyone was sitting back in their pajamas, waiting on them.

"Oh, look," said James Lucius with a wicked grin, "The freak's alive."

 

"Caught your reflection in the pitcher again, did you?" asked Cepheus seriously, focusing mostly on leaning his seat back on two legs across the table from both of his brothers, sending a grin in his brother's direction, but not looking at him. He's still working on eye contact and social connections and he signs anything he can't quite bring himself to say, but he is working on fitting in with his brothers before school starts. Trying to form bonds that his dads promise him are already there.

 

"Stay out of this, blondie," James said turning his eyes away from Lyra to focus on Cepheus.

 

" _And_ he's learned his colors," Anita pitches in from beside him in mock astonishment. The annoying yet playful jabs continue back and forth across the table as Harry and Draco have their own conversation at the head of the table. Albus Sirius has his forehead in the table making groaning noises.

 

"I hate all of you," he muttered out finally."I just want to have one breakfast without wanting to off all of you."

 

"Wow, Al," says Anita,"I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to any of us."

Lyra laughs with her siblings and it's nice. No, she is not going to Hogwarts this year and it's heartbreaking, but being around her family has helped her to realize that it's okay. They aren't upset, she hasn't disappointed them, they still love her. This is the lightest she has felt in ages. Even so, Cepheus and James are used to her magic enough to grab onto her ankles when she starts floating higher than the table.

"Hey dads," James Lucius finally says once the conversation dies down and they're still sitting at the table without breakfast. "What're we waiting for?" He motioned towards the table with his free hand.

 

"Teddy called," Harry said by explanation. "Said he had big news."

 

"At 9 in the morning?" asked Albus with raised eyebrows. "Can't he tell us after breakfast for Merlin's sake. I'm starving."

 

"He wants to tell us before he goes in to work today."

 

"He works for Scorp! They co-own a bloody tattoo shop. They pick their own hours!"

 

"They have to keep the hours somewhat consistent if they want to keep customers interested," Draco said just as the floo flared in the next room over, spitting out a soot covered Teddy who only grinned before walking happily to the table and flopping into one of the available seats.

Scorpius hadn't called about coming home, so he was probably setting up the shop, but his empty chair sat at the table nevertheless. 

"Well?" prompted Draco, once Teddy made himself comfortable and breakfast appeared on the table. "What did you have to tell us? What's the _grand_ _news_?"

 

"I'm going to ask Elle to marry me."

 

"She's your first love, Ted," started Harry cautiously, "you don't think you're rushing into this?"

Teddy looked away, because he'd been thinking about this since the triplets could barely walk and now they were headed to Hogwarts in less than 2 years and his Dad still thinks he's rushing into this. He had been meaning to tell them and he'd been meaning to ask her, but something always came up. His father's were busy working or raising his siblings then he was working at the shop. It just never seemed like a good time, but even she had been dropping hints so he thought it was about sodding time to grow a pair and speak up.

"Not at all. I've been thinking a lot about this. And, my parents were each other's first love, right? That's what Gam always told me."

Harry takes a deep breath because it's not his place to explain the box full of letters between Remus and Sirius that was shoved under a floorboard beneath his bed back in Number 12. It's a lot to unpack so he nods, because it's easier and tells himself that it's okay. Draco apparently had the complete opposite idea.

"Well that's a load of dragon dung."

Harry's head falls to the table. He should have known better than to think Draco bloody Malfoy knew how to leave well enough alone.

"Wha-"

 

"Your father was in love with Sirius Black for well over a decade. They were Hogwarts sweethearts for Salazar sakes."

 

"Gam never-" Teddy said with wide eyes before clearing his throat resolutely. "Well, it doesn't matter. Besides, I love Elle, ya know, and she loves me. So I want to marry her. Be with her forever."

James is at the end of the table making gagging motions with his finger that have Albus, and Anita laughing around mouthfuls of eggs. Cepheus is confused about how Teddy knows he's in love, but when the boy asked him, he just shrugged in a way that said he doesn't really know how to explain being as happy as he is to a 9 year old. He was going to marry Elle and they were going to start their own family, and the thought made him feel so giddy and nervous all at once that he bit his tongue twice, trying to chew at his piece of toast.

Harry is watching his family with something akin to awe, brought on mostly by Teddy's idea of proposal. His kids were going to grow up and move on and do great things, even if right now Albus was sneaking Eltanin pieces of sausage under the table. Harry bit at his lip, because he was full of emotions and all he wanted to do was cry because he was so happy for the future that was laid out in front of them. Draco placed a hand in his and squeezed lightly.

"You okay?" he whispered, leaning over into his husband's space. His breath smelled of coffee, his hair was still mussed from sleep and he had crinkles around his eyes that Harry waa sure hadn't been there years before but he grins, because he gets to see Draco growing up too in a way and he nodded before kissing his husband on the lips.

"Brilliant," he whispers once they pull away. Life is brilliant and all was well.


	29. - vingt-neuf -

"Anita Malfoy-Potter," called Headmistress McGonagall, waiting for the messy-haired, brown girl with her dad's eyes to make her way to the stage.

 

"Just Anita Malfoy is fine, Miss," she said happily before taking a seat on the stool, facing the entire student body.

 

"If you say so Miss Malfoy."

 Without another word she placed the sorting hat on the young girls head and it wasn't even a few seconds later that it was screeching out a bit too surprising: **_GRYFFINDOR!_**

"Lyra Malfoy-Potter," said the Headmistress patiently once the aforementioned girl received a high five from her now Gryffindor twin.

 

"Lyra Potter, if you wouldn't mind, Headmistress," says the girl politely, before sitting on the stool, pushing her glasses up on her nose and placing her hands in her lap.

 

"Of course," says McGonagall with a weary sigh placing the hat onto her head and looking back at her father's who each shrugged in a manner as if to say " _kids_ , _right_ ".

 After much deliberating, the hat finally shouted _**SLYTHERIN!**_ and the crowd fell silent. Lyra, who had been happy to be sorted into her father's house until she saw everyone's reaction, was making her way over to the green table with her head down when a voice from across the room called out to her.

"Hey, Potter!"

 She saw her sister all dark skin and pale hair and even paler scars standing in her seat, practically glowing, and talking to her. She stuck her nose up in the best impression of her father as she could, though her heart wasn't completely in it.

"What, Malfoy?"

 

"Congratulations!" her sister said with a goofy grin that looked just like her dads and she laughed so hard she snorted.

 

"Thanks," she said, taking her own seat. "Knock'em dead, yeah?"

 

"Don't we always?"

 

**\--:--**

 

Professor Potter had almost forgotten what it was like to have his own kids in his class. The fact that he and Dravo hadn't been working at Hogwarts for the last couple of years for Teddy and Scorpius' Hogwarts careers, didn't help matters at all either. They would have nothing to compare the girls senior year to. It was nearing winter break when he remembered. He had written a few chapters on the board for them to read for homework over the weekend and he was asking a few extra credit questions. Lyra had taken her seat in the back of the room, charming paper to stick to the back of Kal Gulling's robes. He ran a hand through his salt-and-pepper hair then called on her to answer a question, if only to give the Ravenclaw time to pick the paper off and move seats, which he did.

"Professor," she said whining, after much insisting that she not call him Papa in class, "I'm no good at defense, you know that. I'm no good at remembering all that stuff. I'm good at _charms_."

 

"Defense _is_ charms. It's _applied_ charms."

 Without saying anything else he threw a wandless stinging hex her way and she lifted her wand and deflected it without a blink. She looked stunned at herself. He, however, looked smug. He remembered what it was like being in a class that he had no interest in for minutes and hours and days on end, hearing about all the cool things magic could do, but not experiencing any of it. He doesn't remember feeling that way about Defense aside from the year Umbrige taught it, or whenever Snape had substituted while Remus was recovering from a full moon.

 "Alright, class," he said with a very over exaggerated sigh. "Perhaps Lyra has a point. Everyone close your books and move your desks to the edge of the room. We're done with written lessons and questions for the day. Time for more practical applications."

His daughter beamed at him and he thought that maybe...just maybe, he had done _something_ right.

A few floors away, Professor Malfoy was on the brink of banging his head against the desk or charming his daughter's mouth shut. He had barely introduced the lesson when she started asking questions and probing him with theories and ideas and- it wasn't bad what she was doing, but the fact that she was more advanced in this subject than the other students meant she was confusing them. They looked terrified. Draco took a deep breath and regained control of his classroom.

 

"Turn to page 226 and start reading over the directions. Don't touch your cauldrons until I return." When he saw some of the students pick their jaws back up, he rolled his eyesand pushed himself away from where he was standing with his legs crossed in front of his desk. "Anita Lily, hallway."

 He stood in the hallway with his arms crossed when she walked out confused, looking at him with her Dad's eyes.

"Listen, love, you have to give the other students time to read the information before you ask questions."

 

"It's not my fault they're idiots," she said crossing ber own arms and matching his now narrowed gaze.

 

"No, but it's your fault if they feel like they are. Give them a chance to ask questions and catch up with you. We'll talk to McGonagall tomorrow to see about moving you up to a higher level potions. Until then, however, you need to learn to be respectful of your peers."

 

"Fine," she agreed, but the pout never left her face, even when she dropped her arms back by her sides. "Is the bloody rules fault anyway for not letting Lyra and I in last year."

 

"I think you mean, _Lyra_ _and_ _me_ ," Draco corrected, but he has a soft hand on her cheek, assuring her that it would be okay.

 

"What I mean," she said emphatically, "is that it's not fair, and now I have to be taken out of all my classes to have a talk with my instructors."

 

"This has happened before?" said her father surprised and she only shrugged.

 

"It's been happening all day." She wouldn't look at him and Draco's heart broke a little. Here was his little girl, trying her best to be recognized as a gifted student, not just as the by-product of he and Harry and she was being shunned for it. Even _he_ was telling her to slow down. He wanted her to grow, of course he did, but he wasn't wrong to tell her to give other students a chance, was he?

 Draco pulled Anita into a hug and she melted into it. He heard her sniffle, but he knew she wouldn't be crying. She wouldn't gibe even the portaits out here a reason to think she was weak. Lyra was probably getting the same treatment somewhere in the castle and he realized with a start that Anita was probably trying to hold it together for the both of them. She was being stromg so her sister didn't have to. He gripped her tighter in his arms.

"Woah," she groaned, "I thought Papa was the hugger. Have you lot switched roles?"

 

"No," he spoke quietly yet still full of false arrogance. "I'm just proud of you and he isn't here to do this part."

 

"Oh," she said gripping him a bit tighter too to let him kniw she understood. That she loved him too. She pulled away from the hug and looked back at the classroom door, still trying not to make eye contact and he smiled, because he remembered when he would do the same thing any time Narcissa tried to show him affection. Anita glanced at him then back at the door again. "That was disgusting. Can I go back to class now?"

 

"No one's trying to stop you," he said instead with a smirk and she made a face at him before stomping back into the potions room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooo the girls are in houses that are somewhat opposing of their base personalities, because they value the traits of the other.
> 
> anita lily is ambitious and cunning and wants to use knowledge to show people that she is important on her own that she isn't just a Malfoy-Potter, butttt even so she's in Gryffindor because she values her sisters ability to say what she believes and stand up for whats right while also being brave enough to do what she wants even when she's scared of the outcome
> 
> lyra narcissa is brave and loyal and she stands up for herself and her siblings she isn't scared to cry when things aren't going great, and she doesn't care what anyone thinks, yet she's in slytherin because she values her sisters ability to work for herself not just do what she thinks is best for everyone the way she does
> 
> you could say they also carry traits of the house they're in, because anita is the stereotypical loud boisterous jokester of a gryffindor and lyra is an unexpressive, always unimpressed sweet talker of a slytherin who is only looking out for her own interests (protecting her family/friends)


	30. - trente -

It takes a year and a half for their head of houses to let them onto the quidditch team and only because they thought the girls were too small and it would be too dangerous.

"But, Papa, you were on the quidditch team your first year!"

 

"Yeah, Papa, how is _that_ fair?"

 

"Your father and I were both seekers, not chasers. We didnt have to worry about being attacked as often," Harry said, speaking as head of Gryffindor house, with a hand over his face.

 

"Not to mention first years aren't even allowed to try out for the team unless it's a special case," Draco added as head of Slytherin.

 

"S'not fair," Anita tried to argue and Harry only shrugged his shoulders.

 

"Life rarely is."

They were banned from try-outs first year. Second year they were both bested. Anita by a couple of fourth year boys who were acting as beaters and Lyra by a sixth year girl with a buzzcut dyed gray who made more successful passes and goals than her.

This year would be different. It was third year and they were each flanked by their younger brothers. James who had been sorted into Gryffindor her second year, was bouncing from foot to foot excitedly, ready to show his dad the best he could do. Gryffindor hadn't lost a house cup in five years and Harry wasn't just going to let them on the team because they were his children. Lyra had the opposite problem, she was trying to force her energy into Albus who stood beside her looking almost just like their dad, yet loosely wearing a Slytherin tie, while they waited for their turn on the brooms.

Cepheus was sitting on the bleachers watching them all with a soft smile. They seemed happy, so he was supposed to be happy for them, right? He would be their support! He was wearing ear muffs over a muffling spell to keep the loud sounds at a minimum.

 

**\--:--**

 

"First Slytherin game of the year," Draco says pleasantly during family dinner that week. "And it's against Hufflepuff. Lyra, have you and Al been practicing those drills I showed you? They have an outstanding set of beaters."

 

"Yeah, 'Nita and Jamesie can't wipe the floor with you both if you can't even make it to the Gryffindor game," Harry adds in teasingly, making two of his children grin proudly.

 

"Oh you lousy lion, they only beat Ravenclaw 'cause Cepheus' team was rubbish," Draco argued though he looked at the boy with a grin. "You were bloody brilliant. Quickest snitch catch since your Dad used to play. You didn't know they were going to score as you caught it either."

His siblings nodded sagely.

"Yeah, the Ravenclaw keeper was rubbish. She just needs a bit more practice, is all. She's only a second or third year, I think. Riley Jay was keeper before her, remember? Then he graduated."

 

"Sarah's quite nice, I think," Cepheus says, though his hands move naturally forming the general signs as well. "She walks with me to class sometimes. Says we're friends."

 

"Well thats good, right?" Harry asked with raised eyebrows, glancing from his son to his husband. This was new! Cepheus was making friends with people other than his brothers and sisters.

 

"No. She doesn't know anything about wizard's chess and every time I try to show her she gets bored. She's nice to walk with me but I don't think I want to be her friend if she thinks I'm boring."

 

"Well I think your Aunt Hermione is boring sometimes, but _we're_ still friends."

 

"But that's because Aunt Hermione _doesn't_ _know_ she's boring. Sarah told me that chess is boring. So she must think _I'm_ boring. So we're not friends."

 

"Have you tried telling Sarah that? Or explaining how much wizard's chess means to you?" Draco asks carefully, placing down his eating utensils, and laying his hands in his lap. If he moved them too much or crossed his arms, Cepheus had the tendency to shut down.

 

"No. She doesn't ask."

 

"But if it bothers you, Cece, you should let her know," Harry says with a soft smile. The boy nods his confused agreement and dinner conversation goes back to quidditch.

 

**\--:--**

 

The wind is whipping Lyra's hair across her neck even as it's pinned up into a ponytail and her grin is feral as she robs one of the Hufflepuff chasers of the quaffle. She is zooming across the pitch with a grin on her face, while Albus flies by knocking a bludger away from his sister.

"Thanks Al!" she yells back towards him giddily before continuing her race forward in the direction of Hufflepuffs keeper. Something about her expression or the way she flew at him without a care in the world must hve terrified him, because he dodged out of her way before she was even able to trick him into moving. She laughed while throwing the quaffle through the middle hoop. When he noticed her laughter he flew back into the ring and held firm. It was harder to get the ball past him after that.

 

**\--:--**

 

Lyra is stomping off the field, while Albus is patting her back awkwardly trying to console her even though they won the game. Their team captain, a sixth year named Harry after their dad (oddly enough), is tearing them a new one.

"Teamwork doesn't just mean the two of you working alone. It means we all work together. For Merlin's sake, it was the Lyra and Albus show out there today. Learn to pass the bloody ball, Potter!"

 

"I'd much rather you didn't yell at my sister," Albus says calmly, but his eyes are blazing as he looks at the older boy challengingly.

 

"Or what? Tell your dads on me, will you?"

 

"Yell at her again and you'll find out," Albus says not answering the question.

 

"I'm not scared of a second year," Harry says pushing both of them, "I don't care _who_ your sodding parents are."

The boy doesn't have a moment to blink. One second he's antagonizing them, the next his face is throbbing from where Albus punched him and Lyra has her wand pointed at his face as if she's daring him toretaliate. He's laid out on the ground with Albus' knee on his chest, somehow keeping the bigger boy from getting up. When the commotion around them get loud enough, Draco storms over.

"What the bloody hell is-" he pauses, takes a deep breath and turns to walk away. "Potter, your children have started a fight and I won't be getting in the middle of it."

 

"You're their sodding head of house!" he exclaims coming closer to the confrontation on the ground. "When they get good grades their yours but when they start a fight, their mine. Alright then," their Dad murmurs stomping closer and lifting Albus without much strain. "Lyra put your bloody wand down and head to my office."

 

"Yes, sir," she mumbles angrily, crossing her arms and marching off behind her dad.

 

"Malfoy, handle the rest of your team!" he says angrily pushing past his husband.

 

"Alright, Slytherins, someone is going to tell me what happened or everyone is going to get detention," Draco lectures just as Harry, Lyra and Albus exit the pitch.

Anita is running from the stands with James and Cepheus in tow after their dad.

" _Papa_! Wait-" she huffed with a bit of a laugh from behind him, all of them, making their way across the field towards Hogwarts.


	31. - epilogue -

Harry is smirking at Draco in a way he knows- [they _both_ know] -is all too naughty for the amount of time they have before their next set of classes start and he rubs at his eyes tiredly.

"No, Potter," he says without looking at his husband, "we're working."

 

"It'll only take a little bit, Malfoy. I just want to suck you off on your desk. I don't think we've done that yet."

 

"We haven't," Draco agrees, ignoring the stirring in his trousers, "And we aren't going to!"

As if the gods were in agreement too, James ran into the room, screaming and holding a pair of ripped trousers in his hands, looking for a place to hide. Albus was behind him, soaking wet and only in his tighty-whiteys with a broken broom in his hands.

Draco dropped his hands long enough to take stock of the situation, drop back into his desk chair and pinch the bridge of his nose.

"I swear to Salazar, you lot are going to be the death of me."

Harry grinned self-deprecatingly as he walked over to his sons, sending both a drying and heating charm in Albus' direction, before explaining the differences between a prank and taking things too far to James. It was game day, this wasn't the time to try and cheat your way ahead. Regardless of what his teammates said.

Draco's head fell to the desk with a thump when James held off apologizing to his brother until Harry explained why it was wrong. He took a breath and lifted his head.

"James, do you think Albus is a good Keeper?" Draco said looking into James' eyes. Albus looked at him too, eyebrows raised and glasses slightly askew from where he went running after his brother.

 

"Duh," the boy said, looking away from them.

 

"Then..." the blond said, dragging the word out questioningly, "-you don't think Gryffindor can beat Slytherin?"

 

"Of course we can!" he shouted excitably puffing his chest out, full of bravado.

 

"Not without cheating, seems like," Draco said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Al, you might as well tell the rest of the team that Gryffindor is forfeiting."

 

"It was just a joke, Dad! I swear!" James looked properly admonished even though Draco hadn't gotten close to tearing him a metaphorical new one. "I was just trying to get him to fly with me a little bit. See, he was off reading by the lake with Cepheus and I thought it'd be funny is all."

 

"We'll see how funny it is when you're soaked to your pants with a broken broom!" Albus said ripping away from where he was sitting on top of one of the desks and attacking his brother. Harry sighed and moved to pull them apart while Draco let his head thump back onto the desk. They would be the bloody death of him, he was _sure_ of it.

 

**\--:--**

 

"What if Elle changes her mind?" Teddy said, worriedly chewing on his bottom lip. Scorpius had seen him twist and turn his bloody lip ring so often in the last few minutes he forgot which direction it was supposed to be in. 

 

"She won't change her mind," Scorpius said, fixing his brother's tie. "She's been with you almost as long as we've been brothers and I bet she liked you even before that. Calm down."

 

"Dads are going to be here, right? You called them and everything?"

 

"Yes, I called them. They'll be here after the twins final match. They promised. Besides, you know they wouldn't miss this for the world."

Teddy shrugged. He'd known Harry his entire life, but he also knew he was adopted. All his life there was that miniscule part of him that had been just waiting for them to tell him they were done with him. They had done their part raising him, but that's all they were obligated to do. He knew it wasn't realistic, because they loved him, but moments like this were his worst enemy. Big moments were life changing.

"They'll be here," Scorpius said again, giving him a huge grin that told him how much he believed in their parents and Teddy nodded with a laugh.

 

"Of course they'll be here."

Scorpius is only just taller than his brother and he reaches out to pet his head anyway, laughing when Teddy smacks his hand away.

"It'll be okay, _lil_ _guy_ , promise," Scorpius says jokingly with a sage smile.

 

"I'm still older than you, you git," Teddy says, shaking his head.

 

"But I'm more mature than you," his brother agrees, shrugging.

 

**\--:--**

 

_"It's the final game of the season, Quidditch fans, and this game is bound to be one for the history books! Gryffindor versus Slytherin. Malfoy-Potter versus Malfoy-Potter. A family divided! Who will win, who will-"_

 McGonagall cleared her throat meaningfully, immediately shutting up Tyra Geller who was acting as the Quidditch announcer from Ravenclaw.

  _"The game will begin when Madam Hooch blows her whistle. I hope you're ready up there!"_

 The whistle is sounded shrilly across the pitch and the quaffle is tossed into the air, followed by the release of both bludgers. It doesn't take long before James is knocking the ball towards Lyra who is tossing the ball to Brian Erland one of the other chasers on Slytherin's team. As the bludger races towards her, she jumps into the air, and a scream goes through the crowd as she separates from her broom but lands again just in time to grab the ball being thrown to her by Erland and hurl it through the middle goal post.

 _"Bloody hell!"_ Tyra yells into the microphone. _"An unbelievable catch and goal by little-miss Lyra Potter! She may not be a seeker like her dads, but we can expect to see great things from her this game!"_

Anita swoops in then, on the opposing side, head to head with her sister and a smile plastered across her warm face. Her pale hair is whipping around her head like Medusa's snakes as she grips the quaffle as soon as it's back in play before taking off.

 She's bulleting across the pitch in the direction of her brother, in the Slytherin scoring area, knees gripped tight around a broom and both hands free. He was waiting for her. The corners of her mouth flicked up further and she got closer to her broom, pushing it as fast as it could go. It was as if even the weather was tense around them. The air was thick and full of static.

  _"Hope you've brought your protective gear, Quidditch fans, looks like its about to pour!"_

 Anita crossed the score line and started for the hoops. It doesn't take long for her to get as close as possible while still being far enough for Albus not to touch her. She hears James shout behind her and she does as they've been practicing and spins her broom until she's completely upside-down. Both bludgers soar over her, knocking Albus back a few feet and she's able to flip back over and toss the quaffle through the hoop. Unluckily, one of the bouncing balls hits her on it's zoom back to the pitch. She growled. They tended to attack the closest player and she needed to place some distance between them.

The game continues in the same manner of thrumming excitement before a rumble finally roars across the grounds and the rain starts heavy as if it had been pouring down all day.

  _"Both team captains are in the center of the field deciding whether to postpone this game. The score is 210:240 with Slytherin in the lead and the snitch has not been released."_

 

"B-but they can't cancel quidditch!" yelps a voice from the stands that has Harry's mind fading into another time before slamming back into himself.

A bolt of lightning strikes just off the edge of the pitch stands, catching a tree on fire at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. It only takes seconds for the mysterious magic of the forest to suck all the oxygen out of the flames and prevent a travesty.

" _The captains have agreed. The game will be finished today! And the snitch has been released! Whichever team manages to catch the snitch will win!"_

 

**\--:--**

 

Scorpius is blinking unbelievably slow as he takes in the sight in front of him. His dads are both in pressed celebratory robes that he is sure Father had perfectly tailored to them.

The triplets are wearing more relaxed muggle attire, just simple black trousers and pale pastel button up shirts. James opted out of neckwear even though Albus and Cepheus had chosen to wear a tie and bowtie respectively. The real sight though, was Anita and Lyra, who had both attempted to charm their hair for the occasion. Lyra's short hair seemed to be burping the alphabet while Anita's locs were vibrating through rainbow colors while constantly braiding and unbraiding themselves together. Their dresses look like transfigured quidditch uniforms and he realizes that they probably _are_. They're both covered in mud, but there is no time to fix it. The rest of the wedding guests are already seated and waiting for the pleasantries to begin.

Scorpius holds back a need to scream and laugh and stop their hair from doing _whatever_ _the_ _fuck_ _it_ _was_ _doing_ and just shows them to their seats.

 

"Papa, will you come talk to Teddy?" Scorpius whispers in his ear once he remembers how stressed his brother is in his dressing room. "He is maybe, possibly, freaking out. His hair's gone like lavender."

 

"Of course it has," Harry says with a laugh, kissing the back of Draco's hand and both of the girls foreheads then following the hopeless blonde to his other son. When they walk through, the door Teddy is literally standing on his head. When he sees Harry he falls face first.

 

"Pops!" he yelps, jumping up while holding onto his nose. "You look nice. Dad must have picked your outfit out, yeah?"

 

"Deep breaths, Ted." Harry placed his hands on his oldest son's shoulders, calming his hair down to a pale almost platinum blonde before it rages into its normal state of blue. "You're going to stand up there and when you see Elle come down the aisle it is going to be one of the greatest moments of your life."

Teddy nods his agreement with a small smile and blush creeping up his cheeks, but he followed his assistant wedding planner, Scorpius, to the main area and stood at the front of the ceremonial alter, even if they weren't indoors for this part. With a tap of his wand, the music began.

The Malfoy-Potters were on one side of the aisle and Elle's family were on the other. Mr. and Mrs. Hathor looked pleased as the wedding party made their way down the aisle and split to their respective sides, but they were absolutely beaming when Elle finally made an entrance. She wasn't wearing her grandmother's necklace even though she knew she was old enough to keep stray magic in check. She didn't want to go through her wedding feeling drained of all her power.

Teddy watched the woman walking down the aisle towards him with wide eyes. She was changing right before his eyes with every step she took. It was like when they were younger, watching her get more pale or tan; gaining freckles or losing them; growing hair or not having any at all; blonde and brunette and ginger; blue or brown or green-eyed. When she reached him, her father handing her off with a sniffle, she was herself again, all choppy hair and pointed ears.

"Oh Merlin, I love you," Teddy says in awe of her and she snorts.

 

"We should really do something about that, yeah?" Elle said looking down with blush on her cheeks, but a pleased smile taking over her face. "You're going to be _mine_."

 

" _Yours_ ," Teddy agreed almost in a whisper, with a soft smile.

 

"We are gathered here today..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was like 2019 words
> 
> ive been writing this series for like 3 years almost so its so wild to think that it's finally over. "Mine" is still probably my favorite of the three because it was written originally to be a stand-alone fic and i just love lil scorp.
> 
> thank you to everyone who made it this far. i appreciate all your love and support. thank you.
> 
> kudos and comments are welcome. i really do wanna know if you guys like my work, ya know?
> 
> much love  
> \-- luci xoxo


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